Chem-Dry Achieves Record Franchise Sales Growth in 2013

NASHVILLE, TN, February 22, 2014 (Press-News.org) Chem-Dry, the leading carpet and upholstery cleaning franchise worldwide, announced they had a year of record franchise sales in 2013, with sales up 117 percent compared to the previous year. The company attributes its growth to major investments it made in key areas, which helped drive franchise sales from 49 in 2012 to 101 in 2013.

A key component of the company's record-breaking year in franchise sales was the fact that over 50 percent of the growth came from existing owners who saw the value and opportunity of being part of a strong franchise system and expanded their operations. The trends of increased consumer spending on home services, the rising popularity of environmentally friendly businesses and the growing preference for trusted, national brands within the home services sector have also created greater opportunities for franchisees and contributed to Chem-Dry's growth. In addition, the company saw dividends from its efforts to attract larger, multi-unit franchise owners along with its geo-targeted marketing programs designed to expand its presence in unserved or underdeveloped areas.

Since the change in ownership in 2011, Chem-Dry has made sizable investments in the business to support its franchisees and help them profitably grow. This has included increasing personnel by 40 percent in key support functions such as franchise sales, new franchisee start-up training, R&D, and marketing/public relations. The company also made major investments in new consumer research to aid in refreshing its branding and marketing efforts, new business management software to make it easier for franchisees to manage and track their daily operations and better market to their customer database, commercial national account sales to drive additional jobs for the network, and new equipment to offer a superior customer experience.

"By making strategic investments to benefit our franchise system and focusing on increasing the value of each franchise, we've strengthened the foundation of the Chem-Dry brand," said Dan Tarantin, president and CEO of HRI. "For more than 30 years, we've been the innovators and leaders in the carpet and upholstery cleaning industry. Our deep historical commitment to innovation has enabled us to deliver a superior product and customer experience, and our investments in the business are enabling us to increase the support we offer our owners to help them to be successful."

As a reflection of its recent accelerated growth, as well as its unique offering and continued investments to strengthen the business for its owners, Chem-Dry was recently ranked in Entrepreneur magazine's annual Franchise 500 listing as a Top 10 Home Based Franchise and as the number one carpet and upholstery cleaning franchise for the 26th consecutive year. The rankings are determined using an exclusive formula that takes into account objective and quantifiable factors. The most important factors include financial strength and stability, growth rate and size of the system.

"Since 1977, Chem-Dry has been setting a new standard for what both franchisees and customers have come to expect in carpet and upholstery cleaning services, and we plan to continue our role as the pioneer and leader in the industry in the years to come."

For more information about Chem-Dry franchise opportunities, visit http://chemdryfranchise.com.

About Chem-Dry
Founded in 1977, Chem-Dry is the world's leading carpet and upholstery cleaning service, with a network of over 3,500 units in 43 countries serving over 10,000 homes a day worldwide. Its green-certified solution and proprietary hot carbonating extraction cleaning process provide a deeper clean, allow surfaces to dry faster, and leave homes healthier. Chem-Dry has been ranked the number one carpet cleaning franchise by Entrepreneur magazine for 26 consecutive years and has been selected by Franchise Direct as one of the top 100 global franchises. For more information on franchise opportunities, visit http://www.chemdryfranchise.com, or to schedule a cleaning, visit http://www.chemdry.com. Chem-Dry is owned by Harris Research, Inc., which is also the founder and owner of the fast-growing N-Hance Wood Renewal franchise.