2006 Press Releases
RE/MAX Adds Finland To Franchise Network
Contact: Peter Gilmour 303-770-5531
(Greenwood Village, Colo., February 17, 2006) - RE/MAX Baltic's Regional Director Eythor Edvardsson has purchased the rights for RE/MAX franchising in Finland and Petri Kyllonen, a 12-year veteran of real estate in Finland is the new regional director for the country. Kyllonen's real estate experience includes work as a broker in a franchise organization, as an employee with a multi-listing company in Europe, and as president of a national real estate association in Finland.
"Over the past several years, I have been following RE/MAX and watching where it was going. I have been interested in working with RE/MAX since 2000. I knew something was missing in Finland in terms of real estate. I've worked with the biggest companies in Finland, so I know a lot of people. Now, we just have to find the right people to bring into this system. Since I was working as a broker selling small companies, I can easily find people who are interested in starting new businesses. I know the system, the key issues, and what people want."
The current real estate brokerage companies in Finland are backed by national banks. "RE/MAX Finland will be the first big player in real estate that isn't connected to a bank," he says. "Agents are not independent in some of the older real estate companies in Finland. RE/MAX also gives freedom to agents, which is a big selling point."
With more urbanization in Finland, people are moving from less populated areas to larger towns. "There is an increase of new businesses, new employees, and new services in the cities," Kyllonen says. "Finland is a very sophisticated country and people here also travel a lot internationally." He points to Finland's successful telecommunications company Nokia, which now has a significant international presence. "International businesses are very attractive, but they have to be successful locally. When RE/MAX is successful locally, everybody wins," he says. He plans to initially start developing RE/MAX in Helsinki, the Finnish capital where he lives with his wife and two children.
"Finland is an exciting addition to our network," said Peter Gilmour, RE/MAX senior vice president of international franchise sales and brokerage. "Eythor and Petri make a dynamic team, and we look for wonderful growth of the RE/MAX franchise under their direction."
Finland, with a population of 5.2 million, is located in Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, the Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf of Finland, between Sweden and Russia. It won independence in 1917 and has made a remarkable transformation from a farm/forest economy to a diversified modern industrial economy; per capita income is now on par with Western Europe. As a member of the European Union, Finland was the only Nordic state to join the euro system at its initiation in January 1999.
