Refresh Renovations
renovations a MASSIVE MARKET

Not all franchises take off like a rocket, but Refresh Renovations has done just that. The business opportunity was identified by Traffic, a leading business and marketing strategy firm which assists many of the largest corporate brands in New Zealand. Refresh Renovations (Refresh) was launched last year after more than five years’ development and already has 10 franchisees who are overloaded with work. ‘In fact, our biggest problem is managing growth!’ says Peter Butler, Refresh Renovations’ franchise manager.

Refresh Renovations is no small business. ‘A Refresh franchisee should aim to reach around $3 million turnover within three to five years,’ says Peter. ‘But they don’t need to be builders themselves. What we are looking for are people who understand how businesses operate. They will possibly have a marketing, general management or sales (such as real estate) background. Refresh franchisees employ builders and project managers, and some may choose to go into business with a builder who brings hands-on experience.’

A Huge, Poorly-Served Consumer Market

Perhaps surprisingly, the home renovation market is actually bigger than the fixed line and mobile telecommunications markets. ‘Our research estimates this market at a conservative $5.7 billion yet, until Refresh, there were no large, well-known brands specialising in it – and that can lead to trouble,’ Peter says. ‘A recent survey by the Department of Housing revealed that 30% of customers have a dispute over renovations, and 19% - nearly one in five! – is a major dispute. That’s a lot of unhappy customers, and it’s where the opportunity lies.’

So how has this situation developed? ‘Builders and tradespeople tend to use renovations as fill-in work between building new homes, which they find easier in terms of customer expectations. Builders are practical and tend to focus on the building work itself rather than the business and customer management side. Renovating requires specialist trade skills; however, what really sets it apart from other sectors of the market is that it requires ongoing customer consultation, great communication and excellent planning and organisation. That’s why there is a fantastic opportunity to deliver better value to customers through a more sophisticated and professionally-managed organisation.’

Impressive Strategies

Refresh has quickly established itself as the authority on renovations in New Zealand. Over 14,000 people visited Refresh’s information-rich website last month, while the company has built an impressive consumer marketing database of over 25,000 people. Additionally, Traffic (the owner of Refresh) has just launched New Zealand’s first renovation-focussed magazine, Renovate. Refresh will feature prominently in the magazine and it will be a great vehicle for continuing to grow brand awareness,’ says Peter.

‘Our aim is to create a national brand which brings together people with the right skills to manage complex renovation projects. Refresh provides franchisees with sophisticated systems and processes for keeping their costs down and their profits up.’

99% Of Businesses Would Love To Be In This Position

The combination of good systems, good buying and plenty of work would be attractive in any industry, but in the traditionally boom-and-bust building industry it’s especially appealing. Richard Wood (a developer) and Tahlia Jones (interior designer) joined forces to purchase Refresh Franklin earlier this year. Richard explains, ‘We realised there was a huge gap in the market for renovation specialists and, as we discussed possibilities, we came across Refresh. When you look at a franchise, you want fantastic marketing which generates real leads, has an instantly recognisable brand and has great systems in place. I’m a great ideas person but I’m not good at systems and that’s what I needed. I felt the founders of Refresh Renovations had the marketing and managerial experience in their CVs to drive a really good brand, and they’ve proved me right.

‘Being a new business, I expected that we’d be bumping along at the bottom for a year or two, doing a couple of bathrooms here and there and that sort of thing. But after only three months, our immediate problem is how to cope with the workload. We have four builders working full-time and our architect working on a dozen current schemes – all big value, too. So at present we are in the position of being able to pick and choose our jobs. I’m sure 99% of all firms would love to be in this position, especially given the current market situation.’

Richard says that what is needed to run the business above all else is great people skills. ‘Neither Tahlia nor I are hands-on builders. Being able to listen to and talk to clients is the vital part. Knowing that you’re going to put smiles on their faces by passing on bulk savings and delivering a great result makes that easy!’

Keen To Hear From You

Peter Butler says that anyone seeking an opportunity with Refresh should contact him immediately. ‘We’ve awarded 10 of our 60 nationwide franchises already and we’re keen to appoint the right people into the remaining 50 quickly. Once the network is established, our focus will be on growing all of the franchises to increase our market share. If you’re looking to build an asset for your future, a surprisingly small up-front investment could secure that for you – but hurry!’

This advertorial is taken from Franchise New Zealand magazine Volume 20 Issue 4 

Contact details for Refresh Renovations

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