Simon Parker
Stockdale & Leggo, one of the oldest real estate agencies in Australia, has replaced its 57-year old logo as it seeks to enhance its appeal to an increasingly young and technology-savvy real estate market, its CEO Peter Thomas told Real Estate Business.
“Our market research showed we’re a trusted company…that was seen as credible and substantial, but old fashioned,” he said. “We believe this [new logo] will help us attract lots more younger people.”
He said the franchise-based company was already focused on building its information technology (IT) credentials, and had plans to intensify its training in this area.
“Over the next 12 months most of our training will be focused on IT…we’re really doing a lot with that. The applications that are on iPhones and iPads are unbelievable.
“We have been doing a lot of training on our iPads. Most of our agents do their listing presentations on their iPads, and we’ve been doing that for about a year now.”
Mr Thomas also pointed to the company’s new ‘24-7 Vendor’ application as an example of how the company was evolving on the technology front.
“We’re making vendors aware of everything that’s happening with their properties straight away, so they don’t have to wait for the agent to phone,” he said. “They can go onto our app and check out their properties, to see where they stand at the moment.”
He said the largely Victoria-based company, which comprised around 100 offices, had plans to expand nationally. The company only recently opened an outlet in Darwin, and already had offices in Queensland, NSW and Tasmania.
“Without boasting numbers, any of the bigger organisations started with one, and then ended up being where they are today. We’re at 100, so if we’re at 100, why can’t we be at 700? What would hold us back from that? It’s a long-term strategy.”