Bright and shiny

What’s the future for the car washing sector? Like so many industries, car wash and detailing has suffered a downturn from Covid-19. The good news is there are plenty of positive trends that will help drive this business into the future.

According to an IBISWorld report, Car Wash and Detailing June 2021, there is only one major player with a market share above 5 per cent. Magic Hand Car Wash is the single biggest hand car wash provider in Australia, with 45 outlets, and it is the industry's largest player in revenue terms. The business model includes a cafe.

Other significant players include BP Australia, Coles Express Car Wash, and Mpower Franchising, which is the parent company of mobile detailer Car Care.

Franchises typically operate in the hand-detailing and mobile sector.

WHAT’S THE MARKET?

• Onsite automated car washing, premium manual hand detailing, mobile services • No dominant brand • A mature market

BE AWARE

• Wages are a bigger part of expenses but manual hand washers tend to work part time, so costs are constrained • Other major costs are cleaning products/accessories and franchisors often control these costs through wholesale deals

MARKET SNAPSHOT

The good news

• Greater awareness of environmental impact of washing cars at home • Rising discretionary incomes and stronger economic conditions • Consumers outsourcing tasks

The downsides

• Increased urbanisation, more people are using public transport

FORECAST 2022-27

Annualised 3.2% rise in revenue to $577.7 million Increased number of motor vehicles will grow the market.

WHAT WILL BRING IN BUSINESS? 1. Convenience 2. Price 3. Loyalty discounts 4. On sites, revamped premium areas, proximity to motor vehicle repairs

WHY MANUAL WASH OR MOBILE SERVICES ARE A GOOD BUSINESS OPTION

• Manual and mobile car washing are increasing amongst higher income consumers. High-value customers have expensive cars and household incomes at the top level have remained strong. • Premium mobile services are increasing their market share. • Climate concerns will help drive business.

DID YOU KNOW?

Increased online shopping has increased the number of vehicles on the road in the private business sector.

WHO ARE THE COMPETITORS?

DIY home washing and detailing Local competitors

Car wash and detailing June 2021 report from IBISWorld.

Innovative Working Practices to Accelerate Business Bounceback

When 7-Eleven Australia made the decision to switch to new ways of working inspired by agile in 2019, the reason for change was to enable the business and its franchise partners to achieve the bold ambition of a billion customer moments by 2030.

Little did the team know then that they would be planning and making the transition during the midst of a global pandemic.

While the change was all about enabling the future of convenience, the agile methodologies have equipped the business to be nimbler and more adaptive in supporting franchisees throughout the pandemic, while taking every opportunity to accelerate sales growth as restrictions changed across the country. 7-Eleven Australia General Manager – Channel, Braeden Lord, says the company’s franchisees have access to much broader expertise as a result of the new ways of working.

“In a traditional style retail operations team, individuals each have a territory where they would be the main general contact for franchisees to help them support and grow their business. More specialist capabilities, such as learning and development, are applied on a state or national basis” Mr. Lord said.

“Our way of working means we have a group of talented individuals with a diverse range of cross-functional skills who work together to focus on the individual need of each store.

The group is empowered to work with franchisees and make decisions that deliver the best experience to the customer and the best results to the franchisee on a store-by-store basis. Ample data is readily available to ensure we apply the most suitable talent to the need of individual stores.

“One store might need advice and support around providing a heightened experience across the counter to maximise customer satisfaction; another might need help with specific training and development of their team to maximise sales opportunities; or a franchisee might need coaching on how to implement the most efficient rostering in their business.

The cross functional nature of the support squad our stores now have access to means that talent is on tap, and that talent is empowered to direct their efforts to the activities that will make the most difference to that individual store.”

“The group also supports every store to ensure safety and operations’ standards are at the highest levels across the network. Mr. Lord said that the ways of working have empowered the brand’s teams that directly support stores to make the rapid decisions needed during the past two years of constant change.

“The way we work means there is greater flexibility. At an enterprise level we set the outcomes we want to achieve and agree how we are going to measure our achievements. From there, our people set their targets and focus areas, and can adapt as things change more rapidly than they could previously.

“As a leader, it has been a wonderful experience to empower our talented people to work with our franchisees to decide what each store needs to focus on and deliver. It provides the best outcome for our customers, and ultimately that leads to our franchisees maximising the potential of their business,” Mr. Lord concluded.