Professional Carwashing & Detailing - Feb 2012
sonable and various trades associated with construction such as contractors architects engineers and others may be willing to negotiate a better deal during tough times Chemical and equipment companies are in a greater competitive mode also providing more incentives allowing a reduction in the costs of goods Conversion projects including full service carwash to flex service or express exteriors include Both options offer the consumer a choice of services which are more competitive than their full service only counterparts Property must have the right physical attributes and location demographics to make the investment necessary for a profitable outcome based on the conversion Investors must be prepared to go all the way incorporating the best solutions to include New tunnel and vacuum equipment New POS systems and other www carwash com 63 and express exterior wash options while the express exterior is an exterior carwash only with free or paid vacuums How to gain success Generally the only way to successfully operate in this new normal climate is to seek out the attractive devolpment projects make the transition and begin an aggressive marketing campaign while reschooling the consumer Incentives for new development projects include The downward pressure on re prices may provide developers an excellent opportunity to acquire property for either flex or express exterior carwashing Sites previously held back from carwash developers may now be available as landowners and commercial developers scramble to find income producing business opportunities for their empty lots Cities are still tough on carwash projects but are also hungry for new revenue generated by new development or remodeling of an existing facility Costs for construction are more rea Enter a new contender for the heavyweight belt the express flex model Here we have a completely different paradigm of the carwash industry whose original purpose was to offer an alternative and more efficient production method for the full service carwash model Now it seems to additionally offer a way to roll with the punches being dealt by the effect on the consumer based on a recessionary economy Well get your tickets and place your bets folks cause youre in for a real boxing match Unfortunately it is not going to be a fair fight The express flex with its leaner and not as attractive to a union labor needs as well as custom blended and bundled carwash packages will make short work of its full serve opponent Property and the new normal The real task at hand for our champ is finding a place to train so to speak By that I mean the ability to locate development property at a reasonable price remember my December 2011 article and the headwinds facing the new investor or to make the conversion from full serve to express flex for those properties with the right layouts and location demographics My colleagues and I have been approaching this by circumventing the usually practiced carwash and real estate buying procedures By doing so we are able to locate some great deals for our clients On occassion we are even able to pick up properties for pennies on the dollar but thats for another article We are in uncertain times and we are in an economy that has been defined as The New Normal Things are going to be different for a long time to come The Old Normal is gone and things are not going to just go back to the way they were Unions are targeting the worst offenders in the industry and they are more attracted to the full service business because of the number of laborers involved and the more union dues per site In my view the express flex model has separation of operational entities thus allowing a much more controlled streamlined and limited labor force that is less susceptible to union pressure Again here is what defines how a carwash is categorized Flex service is blend of both full service Concluded on next page
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