Green Acres Looks To Extend Winning Formula

Auckland, 18 June, 2001 – New Zealand’s largest home services franchise, Green Acres, today announced plans to apply its successful formula to three new classes of services: plumbing, painting and electrical contracting.

A new company, Green Acres Trade Services Limited, will license the proven Green Acres systems and methodologies to these three services, each operating nationwide. While the business is ‘green fields’ it will be based on established service relationships: the new venture will recruit franchisees from sole traders and convert existing businesses into Green Acres branded franchise operations.

To fund and rapidly grow their share of these new services, the company is issuing a prospectus to raise around $1 million in development funds. These funds will be applied to purchase established businesses and revitalize them as part of the Green Acres group. Several opportunities have been identified as part of this business strategy says Green Acres Executive Director, Logan Sears.

Demand from its existing customers for new services such as painting, plumbing and electrical spurred Green Acres into the opportunity.

“Talking to our existing base of 70,000 customers we knew that there were openings to sell new classes of home services. We evaluated a number of possibilities, but quickly realised that the standout opportunity was in the provision of electrical, painting and plumbing services. It is also in these three services that we found the greatest potential area to recruit and convert sole traders and established businesses to the Green Acres brand,” says Sears.

Green Acres’ research into each of these new franchise services demonstrates that the market is largely fragmented and unbranded says Sears.

“What our research also shows is that there is a large gap in the market which is where we will deliver the service promise and discipline that is inherent in the Green Acres brand. Importantly, we have considerable leverage through cross referrals and our exclusive relationships. This offer will allow shareholders to be a part of, and share in the ongoing success of Green Acres, as well as enable the business to achieve a critical mass within New Zealand,” says Sears.

The same business model that made Green Acres so successful will also be applied to the three franchise services of the new company.

“This business model is proven, tried and tested. We will use it with the new services in the same way as we did with our other franchise operations to become market leaders with a reputation for being New Zealand’s most trusted, expert home service provider” says Sears.

Established in 1991, Green Acres provides eight home services throughout New Zealand. Green Acres’ success is based on a proven formula applied in every one of its franchise services. Each year Green Acres performs about one million home services and adds between 40 and 60 new franchisees.

The success of Green Acres is built primarily on a concept of customer service, where trust, service, communication, quality and price are all equally important says founder and managing director Adrian Kenny.

“The company was founded on a vision of ‘Fairness for All’, which still means today as it did 10 years ago, ongoing training, a fixed weekly fee and management support for all of our 600 franchisees. While the area managers concentrate on administration, advertising and expanding business opportunities, the franchisees are able to get on with the job they know best – delivering a superior home service to New Zealand,” says Kenny.

A National Operations Manager will coordinate the day-to- day operations of the company, and draw on the support and expertise of the three directors behind Green Acres provided by a management agreement.

Investors will be able to purchase a minimum parcel of 2000 shares at 50 cents each through ComputerShare Registry Limited or direct from the company itself. The prospectus is also available on online at www.greenacres.co.nz Half of the shares issued will be reserved for existing Green Acres franchisees. In the event of over subscription the number of shares may be increased by up to 250,000.

“We plan to be as dominant and as successful a force in the electrical, painting and plumbing fields as we are in our other eight services,” says Sears.

ENDS
About Green Acres
Green Acres Trade Services Limited is a new company in the Green Acres Franchise Group Limited, which is New Zealand’s leading home service business with over 600 franchises, and 70,000 regular clients. Green Acres group is the second largest franchise operation in New Zealand after Lotto. It has eight franchise services nationwide including lawn mowing, home cleaning, ironing, carpet cleaning, mobile car valet, pool valet, and pet care. Green Acres Trade Services Limited adds the three franchise services of electrical painting, plumbing to the Group. Green Acres Group are New Zealand Franchise Award winners for five straight years, including the Supreme Award for Franchise System of the year in 1999.

© Scoop Media