RISMEDIA, March 22, 2010—Intero Real Estate Services, a leading U.S. real estate brokerage that has recently expanded its brand globally, as a franchisor, through Intero Franchise Services, Inc. and Intero International Franchise Services, LLC, announced that its brokerage operation–based in California’s Silicon Valley–was profitable in 2009 despite persistent challenges in the housing sector. Intero was founded in 2002 and became one of the fastest growing companies in the history of U.S. real estate. 2009 was a challenging year in real estate. Intero executives attribute the company’s success in this environment to a long-term commitment to innovation that allowed Intero to realize efficiencies other companies were unprepared to leverage, seize opportunities before its competitors and retain productive agents and franchisees. “Intero sprung from the cradle of innovation here in Silicon Valley, so doing things that are new, pursuing ideas that are different – it’s a spirit that is an integral part of our brand,” said Gino Blefari, Intero’s president and CEO. “While most in our industry remained static in old models which no longer worked, we decided to act – and that action is directly tied to our continued profitability.”
Bob Moles, Intero’s Chairman, added, “Increasing top line revenue growth in 2009 while at the same time growing our bottom line profit in this real estate environment, demonstrates convincingly that the Intero brand, tools and systems are positioned to perform well even in down markets.”
Blefari offered several examples of initiatives driving Intero’s success, including:
Technology innovation: Intero aggressively pursued the mobile opportunity in 2009, resulting in greater consumer engagement and enhanced productivity for agents and franchisees. The 2009 Intero mobile initiative included a GPS-enabled listings service, a WAP (browser-based) mobile application, and a native iPhone application; A pioneering new office model: While many real estate organizations continue to discuss a leaner, more attractive office model, the Intero Andare office concept experienced its third full year of operation. The Intero Andare office concept features a “cafe-style” workspace, a paperless work-flow and a high-tech, stylish appearance that permits brokerage operators to realize efficiencies while presenting a more compelling brand experience to consumers and agents; An aggressive digital media strategy: Over the past three years, Intero shifted 90% of its media spend from print to digital, increasing Web traffic and consumer and agent engagement. In 2009 the company accelerated this effort, launching a network of blogs, expanding its presence on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and launching a highly successful series of email newsletters.
“The Intero brand, with its proven formula for rapid growth and sustained profitability, has been received extremely well by entrepreneurs around the world looking for a compelling business opportunity,” said Jose Perez, President of PCMS Consulting, exclusive master franchise marketing consultant for Intero. “Because of the innovative spirit that drives the company, we’ve been able to present a compelling picture that other, more traditional brands cannot.” Concludes Blefari, “2009 was a difficult year in many ways, but served to validate our vision for a different kind of real estate organization guided by an innovative sensibility that produces results.”
For more information, visit www.interorealestate.com.
