“We are losing sales mandates”: around ten Stéphane Plaza Immobilier franchisees have taken steps to leave the brand, their lawyer Sarah Laassir announced this Monday, confirming information from France Inter.
An announcement which follows the trial of the host, tried last Thursday for domestic violence. 18 months suspended prison sentence and a fine of 10,000 euros were requested against the man who is also a real estate agent and the judgment will be rendered on February 18.
“We just want to work in good conditions”
The network of real estate agencies of the same name as the host, 51% owned by the television channel M6, was launched in 2015 and had 660 agencies in 2022.
“Since the media coverage of the affair, customers no longer want to put up signs on the facades with the name of Stéphane Plaza, in prospecting we are told more about the affair than about business, we have a drop in attendance, we are losing sales mandates,” lists a franchisee, who does not wish to be identified because he is currently in negotiations with the group to end his franchise contract. “We just want to work in good conditions, if we pay a franchise fee it’s so that it serves a purpose, today it’s doing us a lot of harm,” he estimates, assuring that he “lost between 5 and 10 mandates since the beginning of the summer, that represents almost 100,000 euros in turnover.”
-“The sign is considered too dangerous”
Another franchisee, at the head of two Stéphane Plaza Immobilier agencies, mentions insults, a loan refused by her bank – because “the Stéphane Plaza brand is considered too dangerous” – and departures of employees, since the publication of accusatory testimonies former companions.
Her franchise contract will only expire in one year and, as such, the brand is asking her to reimburse the royalties she would have had to pay during this period in the event of a breach of contract, she explains. But in the midst of the real estate crisis, which has seen a massive drop in transactions for old housing, her coffers are dry and she assures that she “has two months of life ahead of her.” [elle] and [elle] does not come out of the franchise. When contacted, the Stéphane Plaza Immobilier network did not wish to comment on the subject.