Rumours of the agency’s demise are premature. And even if such disruptors fail, the fortunes they are spending on marketing could change customers’ expectations forever.
If you believe everything you read in the media, you could be excused for thinking the UK-based online real estate agency Purplebricks is a company in crisis. The stock price is significantly down from the highs of last year, the US and UK CEOs are out, and revenue guidance has been repeatedly downgraded.
Purplebricks faced a rocky international expansion, especially in the US. In a span of nine months, it quietly raised prices, completely pivoted its fee model, and then parted ways with its US chief executive. During the same period, it lowered future revenue expectations not once but twice, down from total group revenues of £185 million to £140m.
But like all irrational systems, the stock market trades not only on
