Century 21 Expands Its World Reach : Real estate: The Irvine-based company is adding to its 6,000 franchises operating in 14 countries.

IRVINE —  Ken Ojiri, a Century 21 broker in Tokyo, has never erected a “For Sale” sign in the front yard of a Japanese house, even though he is one of the top real estate agents in that country.

“It used to be a shame here to sell the house you inherited from your parents. It was a loss of family face, honor,” Ojiri said. “That’s not the case so much anymore, but we still don’t use signs. Also, the yards are too small.”

Cultural differences such as that are regularly a challenge for Century 21 Real Estate Corp. as the Irvine-based company carries its American-style marketing to the rest of the world.

Founded in Orange County in July, 1971, by local brokers Art Bartlett and Marsh Fisher, Century 21 now has 6,000 franchises worldwide, including more than 1,200 independently owned operations in 14 countries overseas.

“We do not revolutionize the real estate industry in countries we go into,” said Michael C. Evans, senior vice president of foreign operations at Century 21. “We bring them a level of sophistication they have not seen. American selling techniques are way ahead of the rest of the world.

“But there are certain words, certain real estate techniques that we are familiar with here,” he said, “that simply don’t translate.”

In Belfast, for example, being a Century 21 real estate broker is a delicate task. Brian Shields is not only concerned with whether his clients find the right house at a good price, he must reassure them about the safety of the neighborhood.

“We have some people who come in and want to know if they will be safe. It is very sensitive at times, especially for the local police force,” he said. “We often rely on the questions they ask us, then hopefully guide them in the right direction--the best geographical location for them in which to purchase.”

Some adaptations are more a matter of style. In Paris, where Century 21 has about 350 franchises, the female brokers have their own fashion, sprucing up the requisite mustard-colored, gold-buttoned blazers with leather mini-skirts and brightly colored scarves.

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Prompted in part by the real estate downturn in the United States, the company has set a new goal: becoming the biggest realtor in the world. Century 21 opened 30 franchises last week in Australia, expanding operations there. In June, the company opened 30 offices in Hong Kong. Now, Century 21 is eyeing ventures in Germany, Taiwan, Vietnam and Indonesia.

“We are very careful about the countries we go into,” said Richard A. Spencer, the company’s vice president of international expansion. “We want to be sure we will have a success. We don’t want any failures whatsoever. We want to be a household name throughout the world. “

Already in all 50 states, Guam and Puerto Rico, the company, which was acquired by Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. in 1987, has operations in Canada, Japan, France, the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, Australia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Mexico and Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

Now Century 21’s competitors are following suit. RE/MAX International Inc., the Denver-based brokerage now in a bitter court battle with Century 21 to determine which company can advertise itself as the nation’s largest real estate firm, this year signed agreements to open franchises in Eastern Europe and Western Europe. It will open offices in Madrid early next year, said Daryl Jesperson, executive vice president of RE/MAX. It now has about 500 franchises in Canada, Mexico, Hong Kong and the Caribbean.

“Century 21 has been very aggressive overseas. It’s done fairly well in England and very well in France,” Jesperson said. “We’re just getting in the door in Europe, but we’re going to be looking for a share of that market. It’s an interesting arena because the practices vary so greatly from country to country. There’s big business to be had there.”

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For Century 21, the toughest market by far has been Japan. Though the company has been there since the early-1980s housing boom, a resistance to American selling techniques has limited its success. Also, because of the stigma attached to selling a family dwelling, real estate brokers were not highly regarded.

To counter that image, the company “ran television ads in Japanese saying we were friendly and nice and our brokers were good people, and slowly things began to change,” Evans said. “We’ve changed the way real estate is done there.”

That strategy was apparently successful. Century 21 now has nearly 300 franchises in Japan and plans to expand to more than 700, though a real estate downturn is dampening plans for more growth this year.

“Century 21, RE/MAX and others are looking for places to expand, and they are all targeting Japan,” said Louis Masotti, director of the real estate management program at UC Irvine.

“I think what’s happening here in the States is that they are tripping over each other. There are just too many franchises here, and they are all intruding on each others’ territories. So bringing American real estate expertise overseas makes sense,” he said.

Masotti said the toughest challenge for all of the real estate firms overseas will likely be working effectively within various cultures.

“When you know how to do something well, the trick is being able to do that same thing successfully somewhere else,” he said.

Century 21 Worldwide

Irvine-based Century 21 Real Estate Corp. wants to expand its international network; 78% of its offices are in the United States. Location and number of offices:

Country Offices United States* 4,776 France 370 Canada 305 Japan 292 Australia 135 Mexico 91 United Kingdom 48 New Zealand 45 Hong Kong 29 Papua New Guinea 1 Total 6,092

* Includes Puerto Rico and Guam

Source: Century 21 Real Estate Corp.