Warren
Buffett plans to license the Berkshire Hathaway name to estate
agencies in Europe and Asia, in the next phase of a campaign to turn his widely
respected investment company into a consumer brand.
After decades buying
into some of the most valuable brands in the world, Berkshire has this year
dramatically expanded the use of its own name, rebadging its family of utility
companies, US estate agents and a newly acquired car dealership group.
Marketing consultants
and company insiders believe the group is sitting on a valuable asset in the
Berkshire Hathaway brand, which they say taps into 84-year-old Mr Buffett’s reputation for financial acumen and
longevity.
“Like Virgin reflects
Sir Richard Branson’s rebelliousness and Apple reflects the genius of Steve
Jobs, Berkshire Hathaway has brand equity around trust, stability and
integrity,” said Oscar Yuan, partner at consultancy Millward Brown Vermeer.
The number of US
estate agencies using the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices brand will swell to
almost 1,400 by next spring, said Earl Lee, chief executive of HSF Affiliates,
a franchising joint venture between Berkshire and Brookfield Asset Management.
The company will then
shift to looking for partnerships with big players in parts of the US where it
is not yet strong, including the Midwest, and internationally, including the
UK, continental Europe and Asia.
“The values of trust,
customer service and longevity are important characteristics for people who are
making the largest single financial investment they will ever make,” Mr Lee
said.
“We are proud to
carry the Berkshire Hathaway brand and we understand the obligation.”
Revenues in the
Berkshire division that includes the real estate business jumped 26 per cent to
$1.2bn in the first six months of this year, according to a company filing.
HomeServices of America, the property broker owned by Berkshire, and HSF
Affiliates have been rebranding their existing network since 2012.
The Van Tuyl car
dealership chain that Berkshire acquired for an undisclosed sum earlier this
month – the fifth largest in the US with over $8bn in annual sales – plans to
continue making acquisitions after being rebranded Berkshire Hathaway
Automotive, it said at the time of the deal.
Meanwhile, the
holding company for Mr Buffett’s utilities, including MidAmerican Energy and
PacifiCorp, was this year renamed Berkshire Hathaway Energy to reflect, it said
at the time, “the benefits we gain from Berkshire Hathaway’s ownership”.
Berkshire has a
substantial interest in 10 of the top 100 most valuable brands in Millward
Brown’s latest annual BrandZ survey, reflecting Mr Buffett’s penchant for
enduring names such as Coca-Cola, American Express and Walmart. As he wrote in his 2011 letter to
shareholders: “‘Buy commodities, sell brands’ has long been a formula for
business success.”
Berkshire Hathaway
was the name of the now defunct textiles company Mr Buffett acquired in
the 1960s.
