Australian Franchise News – 05-12-11
BRISBANE based pool and spa care franchise PoolWerx has taken out one of two ‘Rising Star’ accolades at this year’s Queensland 400 Gala Awards after jumping from 225th spot in 2010 to 13th this year.
The win comes as the pool and spa care franchise gears up for a significant expansion push in 2012.
The award was judged on business revenue, reach and expansion plans, and franchise founder John O’Brien said it reflected PoolWerx’ strategy of growing ahead of market trends.
“2011 has been a tough year for many businesses but we have invested heavily in our systems despite the difficult conditions and this award is reflection of that investment,” he said.
“We’re also now seeing an upswing in business development. In the 2010/11 financial year we only had three new PoolWerx franchises open, however this financial year we’ve already had six.”
“Overall we are expecting the PoolWerx business to grow by 30% in 2012 which would deliver around 14% growth in total sales revenue.”
The renewed Australian expansion push comes as the company finalises an international franchising agreement.
“We always intended to take the business global and were close a few years ago but when the GFC hit we had to shelve our plans temporarily.”
“Now that market conditions have shifted we are currently finalising arrangements to take PoolWerx to the USA. This will position PoolWerx as a truly global brand and really take our business to the next level.”
Mr O’Brien said the domestic and international expansion was the culmination of 20 years of innovation for the franchise he founded in 1992.
“We created the world’s first ‘Career Path in Franchising’ giving franchise partners the opportunity to grow within a single marketing area or develop a number of profitable businesses with multiple vans, retail stores and marketing areas.”
Since then we’ve never stopped looking for ways to improve our business and that has continued this year with the launch of our online store.
The newly launched E-store offers the full range of products and services available at any ‘bricks and mortar’ PoolWerx retail store.
“Instead of bemoaning the rapid rise of E-commerce in Australia, we wanted to ensure PoolWerx was a market leader in the online space. We spent more than a year developing our E-store which gives customers access to the full range of PoolWerx products and services. We even offer a free delivery and installation service with any online purchase.”