“Never Knowingly Undersold”All gets a bit tricky with that mission statement going into the world of property as John Lewis are finding to their cost after launching into the property sector following the appointment of Dame Sharon White as chairman back in 2020.Their build-to-rent scheme in Ealing is reportedly likely to result in losses of £57m and bids on the sale of the upper floors of its Oxford Street store, for redevelopment into offices, are now floundering, due to rising interest rates and the present economic microclimate.Their venture into property, whilst Waitrose is underperforming, does to seem likely to be on track to generate two fifths of group profit via non-retail areas by 2030.  Maybe it would have been prudent to address the problems in the core business rather than introduce more through diversification.

The final countdown for WeWork as stock falls off the edge

Most Prominent Real Estate Leaders to Watch in 2023 Happy Days - it would seem our somewhat low key digital campaign is now reaping benefits as we have recently been informed that we have been shortlisted as Victory Magazine’s "The Most Prominent Real Estate Leaders to Watch in 2023" Whoop! Whoop! Ah, reading the announcing email a little further, the squib dampens.  It’s seems that we have been shortlisted to be given the opportunity to appear in a special edition of the magazine running "The Most Prominent Real Estate Leaders to Watch in 2023" as a feature.  Furthermore there is a nominal sponsorship fee of $1,200 to appear in said proposed edition.  Dollars?  Hold the phone where is this mag? Well we have had a look at Victory Magazine and have concluded this may not be the best way to spend $1,200 worth of marketing (we get two years of ed for that - regardless of exchange rate). [...]

Hmm - seems we were wrong! Having given unsolicited email marketing a bash over the last month ed decided to get an alternative point of view to those of us here at HM.  To add a further angle to the debate we gleaned the opinion of AI which started off thus… “In the ever-evolving digital landscape, email marketing remains a cornerstone strategy for businesses looking to engage with their audience, build brand loyalty, and drive conversions.”  Thanks for that chaps - for those interested in exactly what they said you can read it here.

Wonderful Spam! Okay - granted you need to be of a certain age to remember the above scene from Monty Python but suffice to say it wasn’t really a promotion for said product Why oh why, therefore, do we keep getting bombarded with it?  And the quality of it so shockingly bad!  The latest to land in the in-box here at HM was from Oli at “digital marketing experts” Add People.  Oli suggests we may want to meet so could we email him back, with a thumbs up, and Frankie will be on the blower to arrange a time., Okay - so here’s what I am thinking.  Being a “digital marketing expert”, Oli, you must think blanket, unsolicited email (Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam) a good idea, or why would you use it yourselves 🤔. That being the case we don’t really need to see you we can just follow in your footsteps.  Right let me fire up my [...]

Fore! (well two for now) On Friday 7th July Mr Close and I will be hosting a fourball at The Richmond Golf Club’s annual corporate charity day.  This is always a great fun event with an early breakfast, shotgun start, then late n long lunch.  This is an open invitation to regular readers of Overheard in the BWV to come and join us. First come first serve (or drive 🤔). Email Andy or Simon

The Ambassador’s Party? Whilst tapping away in the corner of the office on a new section for our website I overheard our Mr Close talking on the phone about his role as a “Brand Ambassador” for The Original Gunner. I know what a “Brand Ambassador is as I met David Sole many years ago when he acted likewise for Balvenie Malt Whiskey. The Original Gunner, however. only conjured up thoughts of that Commercial Property doyen Mitch Lawrence. I have been duly re-informed and share with you here

Failed your Test This week its Mr F’s turn again to flag some marketing of note We can assure you we did not open your last email, nor did we shout around the office to ascertain if anyone knew who Test First Name was!  Haven’t shown the whole email in the pic to save the potential blushes of the sender - suffice to say it was signed off by a Marketing Director!

What’s a Business Expert? Ed is not sure really as the question is somewhat vague.  If you ask it very softly, however, (and we all know from The Times crossword this will involve a “pp” somewhere) you get WhatsApp Business Expert. Now I know what one of those is as Lucy Anderson is one and she would like to connect with our director Mr Close Regarding what a WhatsApp Business Expert actually does, on the other hand, I remain firmly in the dark so if your are reading, Lucy, give Closey a clue before he accepts or not.

Regus now looks even more attractive? WTF - really?  And to whom?  My mind drifts back to the early years when he who cannot be named tried to glean earlies on possible suitable premises from us lot doing brochures at Gilbert Doyle.  Kinda set the corporate DNA back then methinks! BWV Ed needs to step up his game as Mr F brought this wholly unbelievable email subject line to my attention (along with a possible comparable “Estate Agent Innocent”) Leopards spots and all that jazz!