Virtuoso to step up Asia

VIRTUOSO is preparing to boost its presence in Asia, driving an expansion from its Australian regional headquarters as it taps a growing demand for luxury in neighbouring countries.

In Australia for a series of strategy meetings with local teams and industry partners, Virtuoso CEO Matthew Upchurch said the push into Asia was a key part of the company’s growth plans for the Australian division.

He said recruitment would begin soon for additional staff in Asia, coming after the relocation to Singapore of Evan Pierce who was named Regional Director earlier this year (TD 03 Apr).

Overseen by Australian-based MD for Asia-Pacific Michael Londregan, the Asian expansion aimed to increase the group’s existing membership of agencies in Singapore, Hong Kong and China, while also moving into new markets.

“In all the years we’ve been running and expanding - we’re now in 50 countries - I’ve never set any kind of a figure, as far as a target number of agencies,” Upchurch said.

“We just want to be relative

- we want to grow, we want to have significant market share to the relevance of the market in the affluent sector.

“So we feel that a penetration of about 10-15% in the affluent market space gives you the basis to be a significant player in the market,” he said.

Virtuoso next year celebrates 20 years in the Australian market, an anniversary it will mark by hosting its worldwide symposium in Melbourne.

While the group’s sales grew 12% to reach US$23.7 billion last year, Australian growth has been stronger than the worldwide average at 19%.

Virtuoso now has 17,500 member agents worldwide, including 1,500 in Australia.

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