Sta Lucia builds up int’l offices

MANILA, Philippines - Sta. Lucia Land continues to strengthen its presence in the international market by opening more offices abroad to cater to Filipinos overseas.

Sta. Lucia Land International (SLI), a subsidiary of Sta. Lucia Land, builds up its headquarters in London, United Kingdom, Singapore and Dubai by accrediting more brokers and training more back office personnel.

“With offices in key cities in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, we further strengthen our relationship with international buyers, and offer personalized services for them,’’said Liezel Tuason-Magpoc, SLI senior vice president for marketing and sales. 

About 85 percent of SLI’s monthly sales come from Filipinos working and living abroad, and SLI’s international offices contribute about 50 percent of total SLI sales.

SLI opened its offices at Earl’s Court, Central London in September 2011, to service sales from all of Europe, as the company has agents in London, Paris, Monaco, Norway, Italy, Spain and Ireland. SLI went on to open another office at Lucky Plaza in Singapore in November 2011, and at Reef Mall in Dubai in July 2012. The primary objective was to supply trained brokers that could cater to overseas buyers and veer away from the temporary roadshows traditionally mounted overseas, said Michelle Robles, SLI corporate marketing director and sales and operations director of the company’s Europe operations. 

“Aside from being able to provide enough brokers to support the buyers at the time, we also wanted our brokers to give the correct information about our products and about the situation in the Philippines,” Robles added. â€œSelling houses and lots needs a more specialized training. Unlike a condominium where all the information is in the brochure, houses and lots have a lot more flexibility in specifications in terms of sizes, layouts, materials and finishing. Clients also have their personal requirements, like what direction the lot is facing, or if feng shui is good, and these questions have to be answered by a more knowledgeable sales force -- in person.’’

Tuason-Magpoc also noted that the SLI international offices also allow them to fulfill their brand promise of security more efficiently.

“We are building the buyers’ trust in Sta. Lucia by establishing legal presence abroad. Buyers can call the international office for updates in monitoring the progress and development of their property,”Tuason-Magpoc noted.

SLI also capitalizes on convenience for the OFWs.

“As the buyers are mostly professionals with busy day jobs, our offices are open after their work hours,” Robles asserted. “And because of the fluctuations in foreign currency, we try to make payment terms as flexible as possible for our OFWs by stretching payments and forgoing interest in the first year.”

While the three SLI international offices are up and running, the company remains conservative in expansion to ensure their quality of service.

“Right now, we’re concentrating on training and educating both agents and buyers and offering them our diverse portfolio of reasonably-priced developments,’’ added Tuason-Magpoc. We’re strengthening our offices to support the other countries in their region.”