LJ Hooker

Overview

LJ Hooker

former name	L. J. Hooker Investment Corporation Hooker Corporation
type	Proprietary
foundation	1928
founder	Leslie Joseph Hooker
hq location city	Sydney
hq location country	Australia
num locations	730
num locations year	2018
key people	Janusz Hooker (chairman)
area served	Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, China and Hong Kong
industry	Real estate
products	Real estate franchising real estate
services	Real estate Property management Property sales Auction Home loans and finance Conveyancing and settlements Project development Project marketing
owner	Each LJ Hooker office is independently owned and managed by its franchisees.
num employees	8,000
num employees year	2018

LJ Hooker is one of Australia's largest real estate groups, with 600 franchise offices and 6,000 people engaged in residential and commercial property sales and property management.[1][2] The company was founded in 1928 by Sir Leslie Joseph Hooker and after being sold to a private company for 20 years, the company returned to family hands in 2009.[3][4]

History

The first LJ Hooker office was opened in Maroubra, New South Wales in 1928.[3][5] Following the Depression, the company expanded and opened offices in Sydney,

International expansion

In the mid-1980s, while led briefly by CEO George Herscu, LJ Hooker crossed into development and acquisition of retailers and large scale shopping complexes in the United States. During this period LJ Hooker also acquired Merrill Lynch Commercial Real Estate in an effort to infuse seasoned Commercial Real estate expertise into its retail development arm. Robert Rodriguez (Sr. VP) and Dennis Mulligan (VP) led the retail real estate group for Merrill Lynch Commercial Real estate.[18] This move proved ill-conceived, with such ventures as the purchase and operation of several storied American department store chains as B. Altman & Co., Bonwit Teller, Sakowitz and Parisian stores, to be used as anchors for a number of large shopping malls in the United States.[18] Having no track record in understanding the complex operations required to run retail department stores, this venture proved deeply flawed and plunged LJ Hooker, the department stores and its various development holdings into bankruptcy.[18][19]

Most of the department store chains were liquidated with large economic and employment losses. The one mall complex that was constructed during Herscu's tenure, the Forest Fair Mall in suburban Cincinnati, Ohio, went through numerous changes in ownership and operations.[19] Today the ill-fated mall is still struggling, having gone through three name changes. This period, although brief in its history, was deeply tumultuous and troubling and led to LJ Hooker Limited being purchased by the Queensland based Suncorp-Metway, in January 1989.[5]

LJ Hooker was liquidated in the late 1980s, but the name continued through the franchise arrangement that continues.[3] In 1997, it opened offices in Hong Kong[20] and Papua New Guinea.

Acquisitions

In 1996, LJ Hooker purchased the Challenge Realty Group in New Zealand and in 1998 they rebranded it as LJ Hooker.[21] In 2003, LJ Hooker purchased the real estate franchise group Olsen & Everson.[21] In 2002, LJ Hooker opened its first offices in Indonesia, and in 2004, LJ Hooker opened offices in Mumbai, India, and Shanghai.[22]

In October 2004, Grahame Cooke stepped down as CEO and was replaced by Warren McCarthy.[23]

In October 2009, Suncorp confirmed it sold its LJ Hooker real estate chain business to Janusz Hooker,[24] the grandson of founder Sir Leslie Hooker, for $67 million.

LJ Hooker

History

International expansion

Acquisitions

Organisation

Subsidiaries

Logos

References