Introduction

Making a dream come true

Presence in the marketplace

Roque & Seabra today

Success

Introduction

"We were in the early 1970's. Brazil experienced modernization and economic growth. In São Paulo, the expansion was reflected in the fast development of the building and construction segments."

"From the economic acceleration, a new class emerged, with a need for improved home space. The field of civil engineering quickly developed, and new requirements for home brokering services should be fulfilled. Two brokers foresaw the opportunity and decided to join forces to start a new venture. They found what was going to be one of the largest and most active companies in the real estate business in São Paulo."

This is the history of the birth of Roque & Seabra. Organized on April 27th, 1972, the company had, as solid foundations, the faith, the ethics and the vision of its partners, Roque Willer Affonso and Sebastião Cardoso Seabra, who decided to take the challenge and help make the dream of thousands of people come true.

With the profound knowledge of the São Paulo marketplace -- the places, the people, their needs and dreams -- Roque & Seabra was actively working on every county, to offer people the opportunity of owning their own home.

Since the foundation days, Roque & Seabra has kept its leadership and continuous growth through innovation, improvement in customer services, sound business ethics and the the search for the best solutions for the market.

Roque & Seabra high standards are targetted to springing the company into the next millenium.

Making a dream come true

Roque & Seabra has a history of fast growth. The company focused in the state of São Paulo's realty market, and developed teams of highly skilled and trained professionals to cover the state's key opportunities. This way, Roque & Seabra helped the dream of many people come true -- the dream of owning a home.

For that purpose, Roque & Seabra developed an active partnership with dozens of designers, contractors and builders. These companies have been working together throughout the years.

It is an impressive listing of contractors, subcontractors, designers, builders, real estate specialists, brokers, suppliers, government agencies, financing companies, media companies, press, sales counselors and sales teams, customers and their families -- all these people and businesses make together what Roque & Seabra calls :

"Roque & Seabra, an enterprise made by, and dedicated to, our friends"

"To all these people that travelled this long journey with us, and to all new people that get in touch with us, we assure a high standard response, a friendly support and the establishment of a professional relationship".

Presence in the marketplace

The giant city of São Paulo. The complexity of the metropolis. Requirements of growth and innovation -- the marks of Roque & Seabra !

Roque & Seabra continuously search new marketing strategies and revolutionary methods to reach customers' needs.

In 1992, for example, Roque & Seabra and seven contractors hosted a large event called "2.000 apartamentos a preço de banana" ("2,000 apartments at banana's prices", which is a Brazilian slang to mean "a bargain"). The event took place in the Shopping Center Eldorado, a very large mall in São Paulo.

That event had such an outstanding success that a second event, also in 1992, was organized at the Shopping Center Norte (another large mall) with the name "Galinha Morta + de 1.000 apartamentos" (exact translation: "Dead chicken -- more than 1,000 apartments". "Dead chicken" is a curious Brazilian slang that means an exceptional bargain, and pitches a friendly and happy mood. The term was casted in flea markets and is informally used today in sales/promotions).

These two events, unparalled in the real estate history in Brazil, drew crowds of more than 60,000 people (entire families together), and more than 2,500 units were sold in a few days.

With innovative techniques like those, Roque & Seabra took the leadership in the realty market in Brazil.

Roque & Seabra accepted additional challenges. The "Projeto Muda São Paulo" event (translation: "Project: Let's change São Paulo") joined 14 Brazilian contractors in a decentralized sales structure which also brought international brokering firms to do business in our marketplace.

Another overwhelming success was the "1║ Salão do Imóvel de São Paulo" (the First São Paulo Real Estate Show and Expo), in 1994, with the active (and very productive) participation of Roque & Seabra.

According to the market reports made by EMBRAESP - Empresa Brasileira de Estudos do Patrimônio S/C Ltda., Roque & Seabra has been the leading real estate company in São Paulo (the table shows the number of projects -- full buildings and condos enterprises):

Year: 1991	First place in ranking	67 projects
Year: 1992	First place in ranking	23 projects
Year: 1993	First place in ranking	80 projects
Year: 1994	Second place in ranking	33 projects

Roque & Seabra is also proud of the prizes "Top Imobiliário" (by EMBRAESP with the newspaper "O Estado de São Paulo") and "Prêmio Master Imobiliário 1995", (by FIABCI-SECOVI) in the category "Marketing".

Also in 1995, Roque & Seabra was present at the "2║ Salão do Imóvel de São Paulo" (the Second São Paulo Real Estate Show and Expo) with a 1,000 square-meter booth (about 9,000 sq-ft area).

As shown above, Roque & Seabra is one of the most active realty companies in São Paulo, and continuously finds new ways to provide the satisfaction of customers.

Roque & Seabra today

São Paulo is the world's fourth-largest city; it is the largest Brazilian city. Roque & Seabra set its internal organization to meet and follow the requirements of this fast-paced market.

At its corporate headquarters, Roque & Seabra employs up-to-date computing and telecommunications resources -- hardware, software -- to support marketing, sales, customer service and project management systems. The infrastrucuture is maintained by the Computer Systems Department.

Since January 1994, a Telemarketing System is employed to do market research and feed a complete database with customers' profiles and interests, supporting the Dept. Research and Training's activities. The Legal Dept. monitors the regulations to continuously provide customers with confidence about the contracts and documentations.

The company provides Continuous Education and Training Programs to all employees, to keep them prepared to answer to the market evolution.

Due to the size and diversity of its market, Roque & Seabra operates "Sales Cells" which focus on groups of projects and enterprises. Each cell has sales counselors who help the customer select the best project based on geography, budget, needs and desires. The feedback provided by the cells help Roque & Seabra determine the most efficient marketing strategies.

With this modern structure and tools, Roque & Seabra is a valuable partner for customers, builders and contractors. "We focus on helping our customers achieve their dream", which is,

acquiring a new home

Success

"Our success is dedicated to São Paulo. We worked hard throughout the years to know São Paulo, to know its neighborhoods and communities, to learn about our customers' needs, to create new ways to fulfill their dreams."

"We invest to be able to provide high quality homes, security and high standards of living."

Roque & Seabra employs more than a hundred people and more than two hundred sales counselors headed by Emilia Fernandes Affonso, Sebastião Cardoso Seabra e Rony Conde Marques. All of them doing their best for the São Paulo people seeking to own an apartment.