Poolwerx, the retail/service franchisor, officially opened its corporate headquarters and learning facilities, and shared plans for the future.
The company, which expanded into the U.S. from Australia in 2015, officially established roots in the Dallas suburb of Farmers Branch, Texas, with two facilities. The corporate headquarters location includes administrative offices and spaces comprising Poolwerx’ Theory Center of Excellence — classrooms and a hands-on training center with an installed indoor fiberglass pool and equipment. The location was built with room to accommodate future staff growth, and an option to lease the unit next door.
A few miles away sits the company’s Practical Center of Excellence, a working retail store where franchisees and their key staff gain real-life training. The property and staff used to comprise well-known retailer Dolphin Pools but converted to Poolwerx last year.
With the grand opening, the franchisor made an important step in its plan to spread through the Sunbelt, said its CEO, John O’Brien. “We see this as the end of our beginning,” he said. “And this marks the beginning of our next chapter in the USA so that we can drive our training, pathways, succession planning and excellence in the industry.”
The facilities will serve as a hub where new franchisees and key staff receive training, and continuing partners come for refreshers and recertification. Between the two locations, new franchisees undergo a three-week induction. Additionally, the classes host Certified Pool Operator courses every six to eight weeks, as all technicians and franchise owners must earn the certification.
The renovated store is the first in the company’s new Store of the Future program, which includes several floor plans for franchisees to use, based on the combination of services they will provide, to optimize workflow.
“It’s working out how to put all of those [segments] into a footprint so that they work together and the owner gets the best return on investment per square foot in their business,” O’Brien said.
The models will be applied to most or all locations in the future.
To mark the opening, Poolwerx hosted franchisees, vendors, association representatives and the mayor of Farmers Branch, Robert Dye.
The company shared other recent developments and future plans. It recently became a member of the buying group Carecraft, through which it plans to make most of its purchases. Carecraft customized a web portal on its site specifically for Poolwerx to place orders. “We choose business partners because of their operational excellence, which Carecraft has, and because there’s a cultural fit,” O’Brien said. “Most importantly, we believe that Carecraft and Poolwerx have a very close cultural alignment.”
The company also was in preliminary stages to add a franchisee in Boca Raton, Fla. Details weren’t yet available, but the service-only company plans to open a retail store with the Poolwerx brand.
Finally, the company announced plans to expand into Europe. Plans are still under development, but officials expect to start in France, the third largest pool market in the world. “We will go there via acquisition as we did in the USA, and we will use that as a launch pad into Europe,” O’Brien said.
The move is likely 18 months or more away, said O’Brien: “Once we’re confident that we’ve got the USA business rock solid, then we will move with France.”
