Orange County real estate veteran Rand Sperry is launching a new and “aggressive” franchise business in a bid to expand the firm’s reach all over the world, he announced Monday.
Sperry’s new commercial brokerage platform, known as the Sperry Commercial Global Affiliates, will offer a full range of franchise services to its franchisees at a “Wal-Mart price,” Sperry told The Real Deal.
“There are other companies out there doing this, but not for such a low-cost. That’s the advantage, on top of the name recognition” he said.
To be part of the platform, franchisees will have to pay a flat rate of $300 per month plus slightly-over-1-percent royalty fees for commissions over $100,000. Typical royalty fees range from 3 to 8 percent, Sperry said.
Los Angeles-based BRC Advisors will be the first firm to join Sperry’s new network. Under CEO James Huang, BRC closed more than $750 million in transactions in 2015, according to the statement announcing the franchise. The firm has offices in Downtown L.A., Beverly Hills, Manhattan Beach, Encino, and Mid-Wilshire. Huang will be the president of the platform, while Sperry will be CEO.
Huang, who is of Asian descent, will help the firm expand in the Pacific Rim, in addition to spreading to other cities in the U.S.
“There are a lot of relationships [Huang] has built up and now he’s focusing on recruiting Asian affiliates,” Sperry explained. “Country wise, we’re looking at China, Vietnam and Hong Kong.”
Given the technology available today, Sperry said it was the perfect opportunity to pursue the venture. With 150 brokers already, the franchise aims to double its size every year, Sperry said.
“Ten years ago the technology was about 50 percent of our cost, and another 30 percent of the cost was hiring and recruiting to create the Sperry name,” he said. “So it’s really because technology has reduced the cost.”
The franchise’s digital platform will comprise a transaction management arm known as Sperry Central, which keeps track of all the brokers’ legal documents, resumes and product types, and a marketing arm known as Sperry Link, which builds marketing materials like brochures and email blasts.
Sperry currently runs two real estate businesses: commercial real estate firm, Sperry Commercial, and property leasing and management company, Sperry Equities. The new franchise business will be based in Irvine.
Sperry co-founded commercial brokerage franchise Sperry Van Ness in 1987 but is not longer involved in that firm in any way. The new venture is an entirely separate business.