Fine & Country convention a resounding success

South Africa's Fine & Country property group recently hosted another highly successful international convention in Cape Town.

The four day convention commenced on the 27th of October and revolved, in the main, around Fine & Country developments, trends and exhibitions. The majority of Fine & Country's national members attended the event, the theme of which was 'together we are better'.

The first day of the convention took place at the V&A Waterfront's BMW Pavilion. A number of notable Fine & Country personalities and prominent South African business leaders addressed attendees throughout the day.

Linda Erasmus, CEO of Fine & Country SA shared her thoughts regarding the importance of teamwork in relation to providing world class service. Erasmus is well positioned to comment on such matters given her 25 years property industry experience. Fine & Country SA has gone from strength to strength under Erasmus' guidance since its introduction to the country in 2005 and is set to grow still further in 2011.

Malcolm Lindley, Fine & Country's Global Group CEO built on Erasmus' teamwork message. 'Thinking globally' and investment in estate agent education and training were other aspects Lindley touched on. Lindley plays a pivotal role within the Fine & Country 'propertyverse' and greatly facilitated the convention's smooth operation.

Jon Cooke, Co-Founder and Director of Fine & Country UK and Richard Combellack, CEO of Fine & Country International also addressed the audience. Both boast stellar property industry careers and provided some interesting insights into Fine & Country's UK technology and statistics. Notably, according to Cooke, Fine & Country UK now lists the most homes in excess of £500 000 in that country.

Well known auction industry personality Rael Levitt shared some valuable pointers regarding the South African auction industry with those gathered. Schoeman Rudman, Advisor to ABSA Life intrigued the audience with his take on humans versus computers and the studies performed in this regard. Dirk Wilson, MD of Fractional Advertising imparted some useful tips about this growing segment of the property market.

Tony Vaughn, MD of Media Nova, Russel Fuller of the Institute of Business Advisors, Melany Green, MD of the Business Presentation Group, Johan Huisame, MD of Rocket Seed SA and Stan Kobrin, owner of digital marketing agency Rapidreams also shared their knowledge with the convention's guests during the course of the day.

Neale Peterson oversaw the event in the capacity of Master of Ceremonies. Peterson is an entrepreneur, media owner, magazine publisher, author, property investor, online marketer and investor 'peak performance' mentor.

Once all of the speakers had addressed the audience, a panel discussion was tabled by a number of successful overseas Fine & Country professionals. Geoffrey Ciantar, Operations Director of Fine & Country Malta, Raju Jaddoo, CEO of Fine & Country Mauritius, Regardt Lourens, CEO of Fine & Country Namibia and Oyakhire Jamgbadi, Fine & Country Nigeria's top Sales Consultant headed up the panel. By all accounts this discussion proved particularly illuminating. The panel members also shared their branding success stories with those gathered.

The first day's activities culminated in a first-of-its-kind gala awards dinner in honour of Fine & Country's top African performers. Categories included Marketing and Promotion, Top Sales and Best Office Design amongst others. Plettenberg Bay, Sandton's Riverclub and Constantia were amongst the top branches named. The awards prize giving will take place in December 2010.

The second day of the convention began with an international steering committee meeting at STBB. The convention's theme and global expansion plans took centre stage at this event.

Following the meeting, Fine & Country's top local and international representatives toured Stellenbosch and were treated to lunch by Fine & Country Stellenbosch at reputed deli 'Tokara'.

The evening of the second day played witness to another sumptuous dinner held in honour of the previous night's winners. The Property Magazine hosted the event at the Beluga Restaurant and was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

The third day of the convention took place at the Constantia Village Shopping Centre as a pre-cursor to the following day's 'Hotspot' exhibition. During the course of the day, Fine & Country's top Cape properties were displayed alongside a host of international properties. Fine & Country's international visitors were particulalry impressed by the local property wares.

Fine & Country's international 'Hotspot' property exhibition took place at the BMW Pavilion on the final day of the convention in conjunction with ABSA. A variety of Fine & Country’s international properties were exhibited. Mauritius and Malta in particular attracted a lot of interest.

Says Erasmus: "The bond between South Africa, Malta and Mauritius is already well established as South Africans have invested quite significantly in both countries over the past few years. Both countries appeal for different reasons. While Mauritian property products cater for those who want to invest in exotic island retreats, Malta is perfect for those seeking a gateway into Europe."

The exhibition was well attended and a number of international property professionals, developers and tax consultants were on hand to answer questions. Local Fine & Country estate agents also used the opportunity to acquaint themselves with the international property products.

"Suffice to say the convention was a great success overall," say Erasmus. "Going forward, local Fine & Country estate agents will be able to capitalise on what they've learned having tapped into international trends and South Africa's property wares will gain international exposure. A win-win situation if ever there was one."