As we look ahead to this bright new year, here at RE/MAX, we are also looking back at 2013 with pride. Last year, the company celebrated its 40th year with a major accomplishment.
In October, RE/MAX began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “RE/MAX.” Chief Executive Officer Margaret Kelly reflected the company’s pride when she said: “To be here and trading on the New York Stock Exchange is truly a memorable day in the 40-year history of the RE/MAX organization.”
Adding to the excitement, in November, company Chairman and Co-founder David Liniger and Vice Chair and Co-founder Gail Liniger were invited to ring the opening bell on Wall Street.
The event underscored a success story that began right here in Colorado.
Liniger founded RE/MAX in Denver in 1973. A top-producing real estate agent at the time, he believed in the “maximum commission” concept, which allowed agents to keep more of their commissions and run their business as they saw fit.
He interviewed 28 people before finding his first employee, Gail Main, who later became his wife. By the end of the year, RE/MAX had 21 employees, but the other investors had backed out. Although $300,000 in debt, Liniger persevered — and his work soon paid off.
In 1975, the RE/MAX network expanded to Kansas City. Two years later, it opened its first Canadian brokerage in Calgary, Alberta. Today, the company boasts more than 90,000 agents and 6,000 offices in more than 90 countries, including China.
Meanwhile, the RE/MAX balloon has become one of the most recognizable logos in the world. The seven-story-tall balloon with the RE/MAX name and colors first flew during the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta in 1978. Today, the company counts 108 balloons in 26 countries among its fleet.
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