NASHVILLE, Tenn., Jan. 8, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Harris Research, Inc. (HRI), parent company of the Chem-Dry and N-Hance franchise brands, reported record franchise sales for 2013 that were up 117 percent compared to the prior year. Chem-Dry, the world's largest carpet and upholstery cleaning service, added 101 new franchises while N-Hance Revolutionary Wood Renewal, a national partner of The Home Depot for wood refinishing/renewal of kitchen cabinets and wood floors, experienced a network growth of over 30 percent in 2013 alone by gaining 86 new franchises.
A key component of the company's record-breaking year in franchise sales was the fact that over 40 percent of the growth came from existing owners expanding their operation and seeing the value of being part of these franchise systems. The trend toward increased consumer spending on home services and the growing strength and popularity of trusted, national brands within the home services sector also created growth opportunities for franchisees. In addition, the company saw dividends from its efforts to attract larger, multi-unit franchisees and its geo-targeted marketing programs designed to expand its presence in unserved or underdeveloped areas.
Since the change in ownership in 2011, HRI has increased its level of support for its franchisees and made sizable investments in the business. This has included increasing personnel by over 40 percent in key support functions such as franchise sales, new franchisee start-up training, by providing business coaches for established owners, R&D, and marketing/public relations. HRI 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 operation, commercial national account sales to drive additional jobs for the networks, and new equipment to offer a superior customer experience. The company also opened an additional franchise support center in Nashville, Tennessee in 2012, to complement its western offices in Logan, Utah.
"By making strategic investments to benefit our franchise systems and focusing on increasing the value of each franchise, we've strengthened the foundation of both the N-Hance and Chem-Dry brands," 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 category and over the past dozen years, we've revolutionized the wood refinishing industry. That commitment to innovation has enabled us to deliver a superior product and customer experience in both home services categories, and our investments in the business are enabling us to increase the support we offer our owners to help them to be successful."
In 2013 HRI added more N-Hance franchises than any prior year and the company has not experienced as high an increase in the number of new Chem-Dry franchises since 2007. Both brands were also recently ranked number one in their respective categories by Entrepreneur magazine. With the company's current franchise sales momentum combined with its continued commitment to investment in the business, the company is projecting 2014 to be another year of unprecedented growth for the two brands.
For information about the Chem-Dry and N-Hance franchise opportunities, visit http://chemdryfranchise.com or http://nhancefranchise.com.
About Harris Research, Inc.
Harris Research is the owner of the Chem-Dry and N-Hance franchise businesses. Founded in 1977, Chem-Dry is the world's leading carpet and upholstery cleaning service, with over 3,500 units in 42 countries. Its green-certified solution and proprietary hot carbonating extraction cleaning process provide a deeper clean, allow surfaces to dry faster and leaves homes and businesses 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, visit www.chemdry.com. N-Hance Revolutionary Wood Renewal, founded in 2001, is a proprietary wood restoration service that requires no sanding and can be a fraction of the cost and time of re-facing or replacing cabinets, floors and other wood surfaces. N-Hance, a trusted partner of The Home Depot, has over 280 franchises across the U.S. and Canada and is ranked the number one wood refinishing franchise by Entrepreneur. For more information, visit www.nhance.com.