Winner of the 2018 Global Franchise Awards Best Automotive Franchise is Australian auto and marine detailing company Waves Detail Pro. Managing Director Daniel Fuchs explains the concept’s success.
How would you describe Waves DETAIL PRO and the services it provides?
Waves DETAIL PRO is a fully mobile, auto and marine detailing and protection service provider. Services include: maintenance washing and cleaning right through to paint correction and protection services. Paint correction is the professional term for ‘buffing’ or ‘cut and polish’ and involves highly technical processes which serve to remove surface imperfections and refine a vehicle’s paintwork. Our detailing and paint correction/protection services are also used for marine gelcoat restoration, motorbikes, trucks and more.
How did Waves DETAIL PRO come into being?
Waves DETAIL PRO started in 2008. Daniel Fuchs (the founder) previously owned a car cleaning franchise which he purchased at age 19. He grew that business to two mobile units and sold three years later, having discovered a need for high-end polishing services, an offering that his previous business didn’t provide. For a detailer, what separates the amateurs from the pro’s is the ability to polish a car’s paintwork to perfection. Paint correction aims to achieve optical clarity in the paintwork, defect removal and minimisation in addition to super-high gloss levels, measured in Gloss Units (GU). As global living standards increased and consumer behaviour increasingly leant towards European and high-end vehicle purchases, the market continued to demand higher value detailing and protection services and this led to the rise and success of the Waves DETAIL PRO franchise system.
How did you develop the business?
The systems and processes were developed over seven years of working in the field. Big days and plenty of testing and industry networking. Capital was raised in 2014 to invest in franchise development and further systemisation, leading to the franchise launch in 2015. A team of franchise consultants were employed to help build the systems and take the product to market.
When did you begin franchising and how successful has this been?
The company began offering franchises for sale for 2015 and has since granted 59 franchises nationally in Australia. Waves DETAIL PRO attributes its success to great people and a dedication to high quality products and services. We are aligned with the industry’s leading brands and have never sacrificed quality for the sake of slightly increasing the bottom line. This commitment has maintained a loyal client base and enables our operators to produce consistently fantastic results.
How would you account for this success – what did you get right?
Taking the time (years!) to perfect the trade and truly fall in love with the business and the people that we serve. Our operators still get excited with every car that they detail and restore. It’s a rewarding job and produces a real sense of passion and fulfilment. We really love what we do and the smile on the face of a satisfied client makes all the hard work worth it.
What does winning Best Business Franchise mean to Waves DETAIL PRO?
It’s an incredible honour and we cherish every accolade we receive. We dedicate this award to our fantastic team of detailer’s. These men and women work real hard and we know that they could have chosen to work in any other business and make it a success, so it’s very rewarding to work alongside such a motivated team of car enthusiasts. We’re excited for the days ahead. The best is yet to come.
