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Wilkins Soon to be Household Name
By Ken Clark
Wilkins & Associates is the first franchisee of a new Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate division just announced by Parsippany, New Jersey-based Realogy Corporation. The $100,000 franchise, the first awarded in the nation, is a move Stroudsburg broker Tom Wilkins (in photo at left, next to Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate CEO Sherry Chris) said will take his 20-year old regional operation to the national level.
Better Homes and Gardens -- best known as a magazine with heavy impact on lifestyles of affluent homeowners -- also was a major real estate brand owned by GMAC until the company, which had leased the name from the magazine’s publishers for a limited period of 10 years, sold it this year to Realogy whose franchises include Century 21, Coldwell Banker, ERA, Sotheby’s International Realty and other real estate service agencies.
Realogy’s new licensing agreement is for 50 years, with a renewal option for an additional half century, assuring continuity.
Wilkins’ newly franchised operation henceforth will be known as “Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate; Tom Wilkins & Associates.” Wilkins said the magazine’s “brand” is one of the most valuable in the world of marketing, handing him an opportunity to greatly expand by signing up or buying other major brokerages that can match the Wilkins market share. He said he will have exclusivity in the current Pocono and New Jersey areas which his agency now serves “as long as we maintain our market share.”
In a telephone interview from San Francisco where the launch was announced on July 23, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate CEO Sherry Chris (in photo at right) said additional franchises, nationally and globally, soon will be announced.
She said candidates for the BGH brand must be independent brokerages with a dominant market share in their trading areas. Wilkins, who launched his local operation 20 years ago with just three agents, now employs more than 100 full-time sales associates in seven offices. Chris said her company’s new franchise marks “the first real estate lifestyle brand“ in the nation, and that she expects it to expand worldwide, with licenses to operate already established in 24 countries.
“Better Homes and Gardens resonates with consumers from a home and decorating point of view, and we want to extend that into real estate,” Chris said. “We feel it’s a natural expansion of the brand because it’s a brand that was built for people who have a passion for the home; people who are home enthusiasts who love living in their homes. Now we’re expanding that to people who might want to move into a new home.”
She said the new real estate brand will have a Web site linked directly to the one operated by the magazine, so that consumers can access not only listings, but tips on decorating and other information essential to homemakers.
“The Better Homes and Gardens Web site (www.bhg.com) gets almost five million unique visitors every month,” she said.
Wilkins said as the first franchisee, the brand will take his agency to national prominence.
“Better Homes and Gardens is a name known by three generations,” he said. “It’s huge. It’s a name you can trust. It’s a name that is synonymous with real estate. Where other brands are known nationwide, the Better Homes and Gardens name really offers a lifestyle. My name now will be in every magazine, nationwide.”
At present, the magazine boasts a circulation of 7.6 million.
Wilkins dismissed the question of his timing in acquiring the new franchise in a tumbling real estate market.
“There is absolutely nothing happening in the market, so I’m not working on a profit for 2008,” he said. “What I am looking for is positioning to set myself up when the market does turn, in order to expand.
“I started in 1988 in the worst market in the world. I had one good day -- June 15, 1988 -- and the market went south on June 16, so we grew in a down market. We know how to stand those types of markets. We’re estimating we should be able to double our size within 18 to 24 months.”
Chris said her company did not choose to launch its new operation in the currently depressed real estate market, but the opportunity to do so mandated the timing.
“Because of the challenges that brokers and agents are facing now, they are reaching out for new ways to strengthen their companies,” she said. “In an ironic twist of fate, the timing became very significant for us in a positive way. We’ve had a large number of companies reach out to us, wanting to talk about an affiliation.”
Wilkins said he now will assume the post of CEO of the new franchise, turning day to day local operations over to his daughter, Yarrow A. Wilkins, who has recently become president of Wilkins & Associates.
Wilkins said he first learned of the launch of Better Homes and Gardens as a franchise when he stumbled upon a small blurb in a magazine. As he knew several top officials at Realogy, he immediately called to see their presentation with an eye to obtaining a franchise. Then he and his daughter headed for Parsippany -- he, eager, she, with reservations.
“As we drove down, she was saying, ‘Dad, don’t you dare buy anything on the spot. I know you too well. You shoot from the hip. We need to research this.’ Well, she bought it halfway through the presentation. She just said, ‘We’ll take it.’
“I had to laugh. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
Wayne Visitor Center to Receive Upgrades
The Wayne County Chamber of Commerce has been awarded a $3,000 grant which will be used to upgrade technology in the Community and Board Rooms at the Visitor Center. These improvements will be available to organizations that use these rooms for meetings and training sessions. Over 500 meetings are held for area non-profit and business organizations at the Visitor Center annually. Pictured above, seated left to right: Laurie Alabovitz and Dr. Jennifer Stevens, Chamber board members; and standing left to right: Lew Critelli, Chamber board president; Vicky Lamberton, Community Foundation board president; and Donna LaBar, Chamber executive director. Photo courtesy of Wayne County Chamber of Commerce.
PCBA Honors Educator 
The Pike County Builder’s Association (PCBA) recognized Dr. Clair Kenny of Delaware Valley High School (DVHS) at its recent membership meeting. Kenny, who recently retired as head of the DVHS electrical department, has worked with the PCBA for over fourteen years on projects for consumer education and promoting careers within the building industry. More than 80 people attended the presentation. Pictured in photo are from left, Tom Hogan of Hogan Homes of Milford; Dr. "Doc" Clair Kenny; and DVHS’s Vo Tech Advisor Mark Toussaint. Photo courtesy of PCBA.
IRS Increases Mileage Rates Through Year End
The Internal Revenue Service announced an increase in the optional standard mileage rates for the final six months of 2008. Taxpayers may use the optional standard rates to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes. Effective July 1, the rates have increased to 58.5 cents a mile for all business miles driven through Dec. 31, 2008. This is an increase of eight cents from the 50.5 cent rate in effect for the first six months of 2008. Typically, the IRS updates the mileage rates once a year in the fall for the next calendar year. The optional business standard mileage rate is used to compute the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business use in lieu of tracking actual costs. This rate is also used as a benchmark by the federal government and many businesses to reimburse their employees for mileage.
PBJ Continues Partnership with Borders in "Business and Books"
Our free, informative discussions at Borders (Stroudsburg) continue Thursday, August 21 at 5:30 p.m. with "Social Networking and Your Business." Presented by PBJ columnist Heidi Blade Hewlett (BladeHewlett Marketing & Development), the session covers meaningful branding; online marketing ideas; and fresh marketing techniques.
The event will last approximately half an hour and is followed by a question and answer period. It is open to the public and does not require prior registration. It will take place in Border’s café near the back of the store.
No reservations are required. Call 570-421-0100 for more information.
(COMING IN SEPTEMBER: "Election 2008, Impact on Business" on September 18 at 5:30 p.m., presented by PBJ columnist Lesley Smith of the PA Chamber of Business and Industry.)
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