Nine CEO Hugh Marks says the new merger between his company and Fairfax will "supercharge" both businesses and their assets but says he doesn't expect property platform Domain to "overtake" New Corp owned rival REA Group.
Speaking to AdNews, the Nine boss outlined that the strategy for the online property business isn't to go head-to-head with REA, which is currently the dominant platform, but rather find other key areas of growth.
"Domain shouldn't overtake REA, it's a really well run business but there are two things we hope to see come out of it, with the first being an overall continued growth of the property market," Marks says.
"We hope that continues to grow and we hope people recognise that they should spend more money on the digital media as a whole."
According to Nine, the percentage of revenue the average vendor spends on selling their house on digital media currently sits at 24%.
Marks says the overall strategy isn't to "take over from REA" but make inroads into locations where the platform currently lacks a presence.
"We are going to grow the market and, from Domain's perspective on a market share basis, it's really about penetrating in markets where they haven't been traditionally strong," he says.
"Together we have an amazing opportunity to take Domain to the next level. Currently a strong number two but with a clear upside in terms of penetration, particularly behind Fairfax's strong market of Sydney and Melbourne."
Markets outside Sydney and Melbourne that Marks hopes for Domain to focus on include areas up the east coast of Australia, into Queensland, right through to the other west coast and into Perth.
"Where Domain will again pick up the benefit of being part of the Nine group is in those other markets, where we already have a strong presence," Mark says.
Ex-Google exec Jason Pellegrino will step into the Domain CEO role next week on 27 August following the shock departure of long-time boss Antony Catalano.
Earlier this year, the business completed a workplace review finding a “strong underlying culture” although there were a few instances that are being dealt with by HR, according to a leaked memo.
The review followed accusations that Catalano had fostered a “boy’s club” culture during his time with the business.
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