A new podcast called The Real & Raw Podcast, where estate agent James Forrester asks the questions, has launched and is available to watch on YouTube.
In this first episode of the series, ‘So where did all the £££ millions go?!’, Forrester does not hold back, firing on all cylinders as he interviews Russell Quirk about his public failings with online estate agency, emoov, and how he has resuscitated his career as a public relations man.
In the interview Quirk says, “Online estate agency doesn’t work”.
He reflects on the struggles of other online estate agents like Purplebricks and Strike as evidence that non-traditional high street agency cannot succeed in today’s market.
Quirk said that he found out the hard way that cheap fees and lower overheads does not simply lead to greater market share, because “the public are not convinced” by the model.
eMoov failed “because the concept does not work”. HouseNetwork, emoov and Hachted were fighting – unsuccessfully – for dominance in the online estate agency sector, and then came along several other firms and diluted the market.
So where did the money invested in emoov go? Marketing and staff salary made up a significant chunk of the overheads, with expenditure far exceeding income; £27m raised and lost, according to Quirk. “But it was worth the punt,” he added.
Watch the interview in full:
