Purplebricks leaves Australia: Was it a complete misunderstanding of the market that caused the British startup to fail?

PHOTO: Purplebricks

British real estate agent startup Purplebricks has exited the Australian market after less than three years, citing difficult market conditions. But Aussie entrepreneurs say blaming the market is something of a cop out, and there were much bigger issues at play.

A Purplebricks Group trading update released yesterday states that since the real estate startup launched in Australia in August 2016, “market conditions have become increasingly challenging”.

This, “combined with some execution errors”, meant the business has not delivered the progress expected, the announcement said.

The Australian arm of the business has been “put into an orderly run down with immediate effect”, it added.

In the same announcement, Purplebricks announced its founder and chief executive Michael Bruce is stepping down from the business.

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