Risks of introducing German real estate brand to North Texas didn’t phase Roxann Taylor
Editor’s note: This story was first posted over ten years ago. In 2014, Southlake realtor Roxann Taylor purchased the North Texas rights for a new kind of real estate company out of Germany. Called Engel & Völkers, the company’s formula was as unusual as its name. EV “property shops” were to be located in retail shopping centers and designed to market real estate like high-end merchandise. Taylor had hoped to open her first location in Southlake. But unable to find a suitable space there, she turned to a new mixed-use community in Flower Mound. Since then, Taylor has opened four more EV shops (Dallas/Park Cities, Southlake, Frisco, and The Shops at Clearfork).
Roxann Taylor jumped at the chance to locate the first North Texas Engel & Völkers property shop in The Shops at Lakeside.
“I knew Lakeside was perfect the first time I drove through,” said Taylor. She is the owner of a highly successful Southlake real estate agency. D Magazine recognized her as one of the “Best Real Estate Agents” for the last 14 years.
“People will pour in from FM 2499,” she explained. “They will stop at the restaurants and shops and there will be lots to do. It’s exactly the kind of environment I was searching for.”
She expects her shop, located at the corner of Lakeside and Northwood, to attract the attention of the many passers-by.
Real estate showcased like jewels
A real estate office intriguing passers-by? Really?
That’s the unique hallmark of the Hamburg-based Engel & Völkers brand. Property shops are located for maximum visibility in upscale marketplaces (e.g., Montana Avenue in Santa Monica, Park Avenue in Manhattan) where real estate is showcased like jewels or iPads at an Apple store.
In fact, the look and feel of the Engel & Völkers retail design borrows heavily from the clean lines and stark whites of Apple stores.
This Engel & Völkers property shop in Portugal illustrates the retail concept of showcasing real estate like fine jewelry.
And at Engel & Völkers, properties from around the Metroplex will be marketed along with properties from around the world.
(And clients can expect that some DFW properties will receive play in Engel & Völkers’ 44 North American markets as well as their property shops in 39 countries on six continents.)
In addition to the novel retail approach, the European company emphasizes service. Its advisors (they don’t call them agents) and equips them with the latest technological and social media advances.
Taylor became the Texas franchisee for Engel & Völkers in November. She brings years of success in Southlake, her team of 20 full-time real estate professionals there, and her four decades of real estate experience.
“Our brand continues to attract the very best in real estate as we continue to grow in North America,” boasted Anthony Hitt, the chief executive of Engel & Völkers North America and once the number one Sotheby’s real estate agent in Santa Monica.
(The firm, for example, selected Stuart Siegel to lead the New York office. Siegel was president and chief executive of Sotheby’s International Realty from 1991 to 2006.)
Firm attracts the very best
“Roxann Taylor and her team,” Hitt insisted in November, “were a clear choice for us in representing our brand in the Dallas Fort Worth market.”
“The core values of Engel & Völkers,” Taylor said, “reflect the core values of my own real estate career in offering the best concierge-style real estate services in the world.”
The risks associated with introducing DFW to a brand new concept in marketing real estate doesn’t seem to phase her.
“I have one big passion,” said Taylor. “It is making a difference in people’s lives. Whether it be exceeding the expectations of my clients or supporting shelters, children, and the community.”
Taylor came to Texas in the nineties to escape an abusive marriage.
She received a Legacy of Women award for her philanthropic contributions through her company. And she sits on the advisory board of Dallas Cowboy Jason Witten’s Score Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to the end of domestic violence.
Taylor has big plans for her Engel & Völkers franchise, including shops in many of the Metroplex’s hottest markets.
But it all starts with the property shop in Lakeside, where she currently is looking for professionals to serve as advisors. She will demand a focus on service, on many levels.
“We are not real estate agents,” emphasized Taylor, “we are advisors, and we need to give back to the community that has given us so much.”
