AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Keller
Williams Realty, Inc., the second largest real estate company in the United
States, announced today at its annual Mega Camp event that its continuing
international franchise expansion now includes Indonesia and the Southern Africa
region. Mega Camp, held in Austin, TX, boasts more than 11,000 registrations
across three major sessions (Mega Technology
Camp, Mega Agent Camp, and Mega Leadership Camp) featuring interviews and panels
with industry experts and top producing agents.
KW Worldwide President, Chris Heller,
announced the signing of the company’s latest overseas master franchisees. “We
are always looking for the right people to foster and grow the Keller Williams
Realty mission, vision and culture. When we find the right leadership, our goal
is to leverage our proven models, systems, and trainings to serve our
international communities at the highest level,” said Heller. “We welcome aboard
our partners in Indonesia and the Southern Africa
region, which includes South Africa, Namibia, Swaziland, Lesotho, Botswana,
Zimbabwe, Mauritius, and Mozambique. We are excited to see them experience the
same momentum and growth we have seen in North America.”
Preparations for the newest international
market centers are already underway and are located in Pretoria, South Africa
and Jakarta, Indonesia. “We are extremely excited and cannot wait for our
opportunity to offer the South African real estate industry the Keller Williams
value proposition,” said master franchisor, Johan Gouws. “We simply cannot carry
on in the South African real estate industry the way things are now. Keller
Williams is the company of change for us; the company for agents, by agents.
Over the past year [my master franchising partner, Niel Cronje] and myself have
become very fond of our Keller Williams friends and their value system of ‘God,
family, then business.’”
“This is not just another international
brand,” added Cronje. “This a real American company with a uniquely
nontraditional, interdependent model that is growing globally. This is the most
innovative real estate brand in the world, the one that is committed to building
‘careers worth having, businesses
worth owning, and lives worth living,’ and the only brand that is truly for the
agents. We can certainly see that the Keller Williams culture will sit very well
with our market.”
Gouws has over 30 years of experience in
the South African real estate market including overseeing gated developments and
land acquisition for commercial and residential developments in Pretoria. Cronje
also brings extensive business experience to the team with over 21 years of
experience in both national and international real estate, as well as setting up
and running his own profitable franchise operation. “The missing link in my
business,” he pointed out, “was Keller Williams.”
Tertius Zitzke, CEO and owner of AccTech
Systems, is the partner responsible for managing the technology and will be
integrating the South African and Keller Williams systems. Completing the master
franchise team is real estate industry icon Stefan Swanepoel, the New York Times Best-Selling Author of Surviving Your Serengeti: 7 Skills to Master Business &
Life and renowned inspirational speaker
on topics including leadership, personal development, technology, and annual
real estate trends.
The two new KW Worldwide teams, led by
Gouws, Cronje, Zitzke, and Swanepoel in the Southern Africa region and Tony Eddy
in Indonesia, join nearly 77,000 associates and 675 offices in the United States
and Canada, where the company has been franchising since 1991. “We are proud to
be joining a company with such a strong system of beliefs and policy of putting
real estate agents first,” said Eddy. “We are excited to see how we’ll thrive in
the Indonesian market with the support of our new Keller Williams partners.”
Eddy, Chairman and CEO of Tony Eddy &
Associates (TEA), has more than 14 years in the real estate project marketing
consulting business, covering the Jakarta and Bali markets. Eddy received his
MBA in Finance, Investment & Banking as well as his MSc in Real Estate and
Urban Economics from University of Wisconsin – Madison, and is a former Real
Estate Credit Manager with Citibank – Jakarta. Eddy is also a member of the
National Association of Realtors (NAR), the first and only CIPS residing in
Indonesia, and a member of the Indonesian Association of Real Estate Brokers
(AREBI), where he serves as President for Bali Chapter.
In 2010, Keller Williams Realty
CEO Mark Willis announced the expansion of Keller Williams Realty beyond North
America and earlier this year, the company awarded its first overseas franchise
in Vietnam. Negotiations with potential franchisees in several other countries
continue as Keller Williams Realty intends to add 50,000 associates worldwide
over the next 10 years.
“We’ve been asked why we’ve chosen
worldwide expansion in the current market, and the answer is simple: momentum!
Our proven models and systems allow our associates and offices to succeed in any
real estate market,” said Willis. “As we continue to see years of unprecedented
growth and technological innovation, expanding our opportunities abroad
signifies the next logical step towards our growth as a company.”
About Keller Williams Realty, Inc.:
Founded in
1983, Keller Williams Realty, Inc. is the second-largest real estate franchise
operation in the United States, with 675 offices and almost 77,000 associates
across the globe. The company, which began franchising in 1990, has an
agent-centric culture that emphasizes access to leading-edge education and
promotes an economic model that rewards associates as stakeholders and partners.
The company also provides specialized agents in luxury homes and commercial real
estate properties. For more information, or to search for homes for sale, visit
Keller Williams Realty online at (www.kw.com). Information
about Keller Williams Realty’s international expansion can be found at (www.kwworldwide.com).
Keller Williams Realty, Inc.Stephanie van Hoek,
512-439-8708
begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 512-439-8708 end_of_the_skype_highlightingstephanie.vanhoek@kw.com
Source: Keller Williams Realty,
Inc.
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