Case Study: Ecowash Goes Global

A love of cars and a solution to suit Australia’s drought-stricken climate proved to be the perfect drivers for Stewart Nicholls and Jim Cornish to set up Ecowash, a mobile waterless car wash franchise.

Starting in 2004, it took Ecowash just two years to go national. Not long after, recognising potential in the water-starved Middle East, the company went global and hasn’t looked back, counting 11 countries in its stable of export success. 

These days export makes up about 40 percent of overall business, and Jim Cornish, managing director, is confident that’s going to grow. “Our overseas markets continue to grow dramatically. There is a shift in the volume happening now, which I expect to become more pronounced,” he says. “I expect it to be more like 50/50 by the end of December, and that’s taking into account Australia continuing to expand.”

Fuelling growth is the mutual love of cars Nicholls and Cornish share, both former rally drivers. “I have been obsessed with cars for as long as I can remember–apparently my first word was car, to the disappointment of my parents at the time,” says Cornish. “So I was always looking for a way to be in a business where I could be around cars, with people who share my interest in cars.”

The dynamic duo decided to partner up while sitting around at Nicholls’ mechanical workshop, where they first met. “Jim would bring his car to me and with our related motor sport backgrounds and interest in all things with wheels, we developed a great friendship,” says Stewart Nicholls, operations director. “Jim would often drop in just for a coffee and a chat. This is also how Ecowash started, with us always talking about business opportunities and, of course, cars.”

Though, there was more to their decision to create a mobile service than a desire to spend all day around cars. “We basically saw that there was a need in the market for a company like this,” says Nicholls. “There was no one out there who could deliver a car-cleaning service to the client in any location.”

Their starting point was quite simple. “I knew of the waterless technology and Jim and I got talking about the concept and its potential as a franchise system,” explains Nicholls. Within two months, Ecowash was up and running, with two cars ready to go.

Franchise Foundation

The partners have never looked back on their initial decision to begin a franchise. Ecowash currently has 50 franchisees and even more mobile units in Australia alone. Their approach to exporting has been a little different, and the partners believe the master franchise system, where they establish the business in a country and then sub-franchise under that, works better for them.

Their success, however, is the product of a solid foundation and an enormous amount of hard work, says Nicholls. “Everything we did being documented and systematised, Jim and I worked seven days a week, doing 12-to-16 hour days, for months.”

While their work hours have decreased, the time spent on research hasn’t. “All of the markets are key markets for us because we don’t go anywhere that’s going to be a slow market for us,” he explains.

Significant time is also set aside to build the Ecowash family. “All of our franchisees have complete access to both Jim and myself,” says Nicholls. “They also meet with us regularly when we can, either at state or national conferences.” Good relationships are key to running a successful business, he explains.

Though, there is a second key. “Branding has been a big point with overseas and domestic marketing,” adds Nicholls. “It’s really important for everything to be formally branded and professional-looking. If you’re offering a service, it doesn’t matter what it is, it has to be a professional-looking service.” He believes this is the best way to convince customers about the business’ legitimacy. “They’ve got to know that you’re not some fly-by-night company.”

Far gone are the days of car washers with ripped shirts and torn jeans. The Ecowash crew has gone to another extreme. Every employee across the globe wears an orange polo shirt, with black trousers or shorts and black shoes. And to top it off, the Ecowash fleet matches in brightness and is plastered with logos and marketing material. “You can see them from a mile away, and that’s been pretty important,” explains Nicholls. “So all of our marketing material, everything has a brand. There’s a brand guideline that we stick to, and that means no one can produce anything in the company unless it matches the set guidelines.”