This iconic household brand wants your cars and is wholeheartedly embracing the world of bricks and mortar through the convenience of franchising. As to why P&G, a company with more than 300 brands globally, began exploring franchising, Nathan Estruth told CSP Daily News, "The franchising business model allows us a way to start to gain experience in how we can delight consumers, not only with our products through our global retailers, but also directly in the service industry, where we have a higher quality touchpoint with those customers."
Estruth is vice president of P&G FutureWorks, which develops P&G's new businesses.
Mr. Clean Car Wash includes two corporate-owned locations in the greater Cincinnati area and is a subsidiary of Agile Pursuits Franchising Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Procter & Gamble (P&G). Along with the Atlanta-area efforts, P&G is stepping up its first entry into franchising in its 172-year history, with franchisees signing on to open locations in Georgia, North Carolina and Ohio. Indeed, the company is approved for franchising in 42 states so far.
Under the arrangement, franchisees sign contracts for 10 years, with a 10-year renewal option. The franchise fee is $35,000, with royalties set at 6%. Net worth of $2.5 million is required.
In return, franchisees get the muscle of a prominent brand, or, as Estruth described, "the power of P&G consumer understanding, brand building, marketing and scale purchasing power."
The sense, and hope, said Estruth, is that the product's at-home success will translate in the car-wash model. "Consumers trust him in their homes; they now know they can trust him in their cars."
And so far, the franchising efforts seem to be "counter-cyclical" to the economy, according to Estruth. "We've been overwhelmed by the response," he said of the more than 1,000 franchisee applications that have flooded into the company. The company has set up a website, www.mrcleancarwash.com, which details franchise information.
Mr. Clean may not be the last brand to get its own store. P&G is also looking at franchising Tide Dry Cleanershaving initiated a test in the Kansas City, Kan., area, with three company-operated stores.
Estruth acknowledged that there are differences between P&G and a standard franchising model. "We are very cognizant that this is a new business we're building. We are not a franchisor, and we have now become a franchisor business. And that's why we are relying on the expertise of folks who have done it before, rather than pretend that we know how to do it on our own," he said.
The company has aligned itself with a board of directors that includes top executivess (past and present) from Mailboxes Etc., Popeye's Chicken and Taco Bell, in addition to the 50 years of experience that Bob Arnett Sr. and Bob Arnett Jr., the former owners of Carnett's, who currently serve as CEO and COO at the franchise, respectively, bring to the business.
As for what customers can plan on seeing at a Mr. Clean, car washes run from the $8 Basic Clean exterior-only wash to the $24 Mr. Clean Signature Shine, with express detailing add-ons such as shampooing carpets and mats or hand waxing that run for $29 each. There is also a convenience storeoffering car-related items, refreshments, greeting cards and coffeeas well as flat-screen TVs and free WiFi to entertain customers while they wait.
While Estruth didn't reveal specific numbers on how many Mr. Clean Car Wash locations will be in place by year's end, he confirms that the company is in "very active discussions" in Texas and Illinois. Estruth adds that interest in the Dallas-Ft Worth and Houston markets is so great that the company has started to hold lots for ground-up builds in anticipation of franchisees. And building from the ground-up will be the company's model going forward, to help maintain consistency.
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