The Dunedin-headquartered company — whose franchise network provides about 3million hours of customer service annually — won three of the five major awards including business to business — franchise system of the year for CrestClean (franchisor); business to business — franchisee of the year (Christchurch and South Canterbury franchisee Navjot Kaur); and regional master franchisee of the year (Tim O’Leary, Hawke’s Bay).
Co-founder and chief executive Grant McLauchlan said it was particularly meaningful to be recognised with three wins at what was the 30th anniversary of the awards.
“It’s a testament to the systems, training and support structure we’ve built over the past 28 years from right here in Dunedin, and the dedication of our franchise network across New Zealand,” Mr McLauchlan said.
While CrestClean had been consistently recognised in the franchising sector, last weekend’s awards function felt particularly significant as it demonstrated that its business model — combining owner-operator dedication with corporate structure and support — continued to deliver results, even in challenging economic conditions, he said.
The last two years had seen a tougher trading environment but CrestClean had managed to holds its standards and pricing and also achieved 5% growth last year.
It was while they were in England that Mr McLauchlan and his friend Rene Mangnus — who met at a social event while studying commerce at the University of Otago in the late 1980s — realised franchising was a popular business model overseas and wondered how they could apply it back home.
Returning to New Zealand, the pair decided the service industry would be the way to go and they identified cleaning as a large industry with secure cashflows and revenue.
In December 1996, they bought a small Dunedin cleaning company, made the existing owner the franchisee, and called it CrestClean. It now has 700 franchise businesses around the country and 6500 corporate customers.
Entering the franchise awards was an opportunity to benchmark the company against previous years, evaluate its strategy and look for further improvement for the year ahead, Mr McLauchlan said.
Customers had recently been feeling the chilly winds of the economic environment and some had to look for cheaper alternatives, had gone out of business or gone in-house with their cleaning.
But the secret to CrestClean’s continued success had been its focus on its people and customers, and around standards and quality and customer service which provided a very strong foundation for the future. They had always seen the opportunity for improvement in the New Zealand cleaning industry, upskilling people and giving them confidence to run successful businesses.
While tough in the early stages, they had brought on technology, systems and processes and trainers, and established its subsidiary the Master Cleaners Training Institute, the largest training organisation in the New Zealand cleaning industry, with its own chief executive.
Training and upskilling was a huge part of the business and 260 physical training events were held in the last 12 months, Mr McLauchlan said.
CrestClean was now noticing a positive uptick in customer inquiries as more confidence returned to the economy.
It had a fairly defined strategy and, by 2030, wanted to be a $200 million business. To achieve that, it needed the economy to “turn up a bit”.
CrestClean has 22 staff based in its Dunedin headquarters, 155 people across Dunedin, Oamaru and Balclutha, a further 80 in Central Otago and 93 in Southland.
Mr McLauchlan said the franchise system of the year award was the result of a collective effort by everyone in the business.
The judges described CrestClean as a strong and robust franchise system, recognising its strategic thinking, long-term relationships and commitment to continuous improvement.
They said the submission demonstrated clear strategic focus, strong relationships and smart growth, especially in healthcare.
CrestClean was also recognised for its commitment to training and building long-term customer partnerships.
CrestClean Christchurch and South Canterbury franchisee Mrs Kaur and her husband Navdeep Singh had grown their business into one of the largest CrestClean franchises in the country.
The judges praised her commendable commitment to staff, performance and business growth, saying careful planning and goal setting had led to outstanding business development and success being achieved in a short time.
Meanwhile, Hawke’s Bay regional master franchisee Mr O’Leary had grown a thriving business built on what the judges described as “strong leadership, smart growth, and a regional manager who demonstrates genuine care for his team”.
