Ticino Welcome ° 74, June to August 2022 – 25 YEARS OF A LONG JOURNEY: UELI SCHNORF'S WETAG
25 YEARS OF A LONG JOURNEY: UELI SCHNORF'S WETAG
An important jubilee for the co-owner of Wetag Consulting, Ueli Schnorf, who this year celebrates his 25 years of activity in the company. A path started by chance, but which has given him great satisfaction both professionally and personally. Today the company is recognized worldwide and specializes in luxury real estate
Linked to art, to aesthetics, you have a humanistic past that hardly matches real estate …
"I have actually done many things in my life: I studied economics and history in Zurich, I worked as a musician and composer, as a photographer, as an advertising consultant and with my friend, then partner, Peter Albrecht I founded the architecture studio and for many years we have worked with important clients such as Locarno Film Festival and Swatch. For SWATCH I designed and built over 300 shops and points of sales, however, as often happens in life when we are young, we needed new challenges and in 1997, without great prospects, we decided to buy the Wetag real estate company, which was already well known, but it was about to close. There wasn't much of what you can see today (laughs), the inventory was made up of a few leather chairs, an old car, a secretary who couldn't wait to leave and some debt. Nobody wanted this company! ».
You, on the other hand, wanted the challenge and you found it …
“Yes, but the initial idea was to fix the company and then resell it. The real estate sector in Ticino, we are talking about the 90s, had just emerged from a crisis and the sellers of that time did not have the knowledge and training of today. We, however, working on a Swiss level, already had a conception of what marketing was, a sales strategy and therefore we decided to make a difference, to advertise the houses in a different way, to put inspiration and feeling, to make ourselves heard. ".
And you did it …
"It was not easy, we started taking quality photographs, developing them and pasting them on the brochures, later we gave up the other activities and concentrated solely on Wetag and the sale of luxury properties, excluding construction, management, rentals… Thanks to Peter, then already at the forefront of information technology, we immediately went online with an advanced database system and one of the first websites. Of course, in that period there were companies that sold much more than us, but no one did it like us „.
I guess it is difficult to compare the Wetag of that time with the society of today …
«Everything has changed, but Wetag's pillar has remained the same: maximum professionalism at the customer's service. Currently we have an international network unattainable for other companies, we are recognized and appreciated in the luxury market worldwide and this is not me to say, every year we receive official recognition for our work. We co-founded the European Real Estate Network EREN and I have been its president for many years. The point is that luxury networks cannot be purchased, it is they who approach the companies and carry out a careful selection, choosing who best represents them in a particular region. This is what happened to us with Christie's, with LeadingRe and Luxury Portfolio, just to name a few ».
What is its greatest strength, beyond experience?
"My friends would say:" He is a happy person ", and I would reply:" It's true, but happiness is not placed in your cradle, it is something you learn, just like the rest of things, it is a long journey. , based on modesty ". My clients would say: "He knows how to listen", but even in this case there is something more: "The true art is in being able to understand what you hear and it is very difficult". I have become what I am today thanks to my travels, I have visited 50 different countries, I have experienced their realities, I have visited the most famous villas in the world and at the same time I have also seen places of great misery. I'm not saying I've seen everything, I continue to be curious, to want to learn. I believe that modesty and curiosity are my foundations (my strength), to which by adding your own real estate company specializing in luxury, one of the most interesting customers in the world, you get a rather stimulating result (smiles) ».
Does this mean that working at Wetag makes you happy?
"Of course! But again, happiness doesn't come out of nowhere. There are the customers, but also the team I work with, people who are a great inspiration to me. Employees must be chosen carefully, treated with respect and understanding, to create a stimulating atmosphere that is undoubtedly perceived by customers. Then it is true that every day we can annoy each other for small things, but in this way "never a dull moment", never a dull moment ... ».
Wetag Consulting soon a larger office will open in Ascona, an important project for the real estate company specializing in the luxury sector, always looking for new and stimulating challenges.
WETAG CONSULTING IMMOBILIARE SA
Luxury Real Estate for sale in Ticino, Switzerland
Riva Antonio Caccia 3
CH-6900 Lugano
Via Antonio Ciseri 13A
CH-6600 Locarno
Via Monte Verità 1
CH-6612 Ascona
www.wetag.ch
www.journal.wetag.ch
[email protected]
+41(0)91 601 04 40
