Nanotek, the Australian-owner car cleaning franchise, has made history by becoming the first Australian mobile franchise to arrive in Russia.
Russia now forms one of the 12 countries across Europe, the Middle East and North America Nanotek has expanded to, with CEO Jim Cornish revealing that exports now contribute 60 percent of the franchise’s operations.
“We are expecting to have over 130 mobile units internationally by the end of 2011 with revenues up to $15 million. We expect Russia alone will generate about $2 million after the first year.”
Cornish said his company believes Russia holds “enormous” potential, as it’s a large, untapped market and one without an existing mobile car cleaning franchise, giving Nanotek the opportunity to establish its place.
“The market has the potential for at least 500 mobile units across all major territories and we expect to have 30 up and running by the end of this year,” he said.
Headquartered in Moscow, Nanotek’s operation will have an immediate focus on the federation’s capital and St Petersburg. The franchise was launched under its former name, Ecowash Mobile, due to the extensive operation approval process that started before the company’s recent transformation to Nanotek.
Cornish said despite having almost completed the conversion to Nanotek across the rest of the world, Ecowash Mobile was a proven success in undeveloped markets.
“Ecowash Mobile generates a lot of interest with its bold orange branding and it’s fantastic for a new market, particularly one that doesn’t have a similar service. We’re confident it will match the previous success experienced in other countries.
Nanotek’s focus will now be on establishing the franchise in Russia and continuing growth in existing markets.
“Almost all Australian franchisees now operate as Nanotek so our focus is not only on recruiting new franchisees but on helping our current team expand into multi-unit businesses,” Cornish added.
