Agents orange: colour scheme makes property player stand out
MOVEHOME
Business: MoveHome estate agents Set up: 2005 Founder: Ronan Crinion Turnover: €4m No of Employees: 10 Location: Drumcondra, Dublin 9
AS economies go up and down, a key barometer that gets lots of airtime is the price of houses. During the boom, prices escalated beyond reason and of course we know what happened in the crash.
Selling a property is a skill that few vendors will tackle without the support of a qualified estate agent. Consequently, according to Pat Davitt, CEO of The Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers, there are more than 5,000 independent estate agents in Ireland in addition to a number of franchise groups. Because we as a nation move home less often than in the UK and there is less property flipping going on, there is a lot of competition for limited stock. Standing out from a crowded market is an ongoing challenge.
MOVEHOME ESTATE AGENTS
Ronan Crinion was a retailer in Dublin for 15 years. His family had a number of toy shops called Tommy’s and he himself developed the chain of independent newsagents called Tom Stanley’s. The business enjoyed much success, but Ronan anticipated challenges in the sector due to a decline in tobacco and print sales. He reinvented himself and became an estate agent in 2005. Initially working from an office in Walkinstown, he planned to win with high volume and low fees.
Then, after a short spell working out of a retail kiosk unit in Omni Shopping Centre in Santry, Dublin, he relocated to a prominent unit on Drumcondra Road Upper, near DCU.
This road is the third-busiest artery into Dublin, with 30,000 vehicles per day passing the door. Anyone travelling that road will know MoveHome, the brand that Crinion developed. It’s a very attractive estate agents’ showroom which has won awards for its shopfront.
THE BUSINESS MODEL
Most independent estate agents develop their business in the local community in which their showroom is located. MoveHome caters mainly for Dublin’s northside. Staying independent is a challenge, especially when a business is up against the large multi-site groups. MoveHome punches well in this regard, with 75pc of its revenue coming from sales and 25pc from lettings.
The business has a number of tools to help it deliver that success. One is the consistent and strong branding that runs throughout the business. Using a friendly orange colour against a white background, the branding starts with the shopfront and logo, website, brochures, font, stationery, pens, interior decor and so on.
It is consistent and is tastefully done. The distinctive shopfronts are clearly a selling point and with 10 different window schemes per year planned well in advance they are a significant driver of enquiries.
We know that retailers buy stock from suppliers, they put on a margin and they sell it. Estate agents, however, have to compete for their stock (properties) with other agents.
“We get stock by making a big effort with our potential vendors. We have a strong local presence with our showroom and the striking orange boards that we use on vendors’ properties send a strong message to other potential vendors,” said Crinion.
Over the years, I have run many workshops with estate agents and I always ask: ‘Who is your customer?’. The resounding answer is the vendor. I do, of course, appreciate that it’s the vendor that gives the instruction to the estate agent and therefore the agent is working to maximise the price.
But the industry as a whole is moving more to a balanced model of recognising the need to give great service to buyers also.
After all, if buyers are not treated with great respect, they’ll go elsewhere, and then the vendor suffers anyway.
I quizzed Crinion on this and was reassured with some great examples. Google reviews are another driver of prospects.
THE FUTURE
The business intends to continue its sponsorship of local GAA club Na Fianna, and its link with Drumcondra Tidy Village Group. Crinion has also just signed for an additional premises on the corner of Capel Street and Ormond Quay in Dublin. True to his strategy in Drumcondra which is about catering for the local market, he will target Dublin 1, 2, 7 and 8. I’ll look forward with anticipation for more ‘best windows awards’ when I’m driving down the quays in May.