Summary of Operation
Chemex sells and distributes cleaning and hygiene products to business clients in the hospitality & catering, leisure, and healthcare industries. Franchise owners provide consultancy, training and support to all industry sectors.
INITIAL INVESTMENT REQUIRED £24,500 + VAT
For more than 20 years, Stephen and Margaret Crinks have been mixing family life with running their Chemex franchise.
After Margaret gave birth to their daughter, they decided it was time to “stop and think about us as a family”. They realised the best way to do this was to set up their own business.
Stephen left his job in the hotel industry and started to research a number of business opportunities, both franchise and non-franchise. They were attracted to Chemex as it provided the chance “to take nothing and develop something”.
What makes Chemex stand out for Stephen and Margaret is the franchisor’s ability and desire to work closely with its franchise owners.
Once they had completed their initial training, Margaret and Stephen became franchise owners of Chemex’s Winchester, Basingstoke, Newbury and Andover territories.
“Being able to work flexible hours from our office at home was really beneficial following the birth of our daughter. I was able to juggle looking after her with the bookkeeping, mail shots and searching for new business,” explains Margaret.
“Stephen and I have very defined roles – he delivers the cleaning products and liaises with the clients face-to-face, while I take care of the administration and marketing side of the business.”More than 75 per cent of the couple’s new business comes from existing clients.
“We must be doing something right,” beams Stephen. “The key to what we do is customer loyalty. Not only do we deliver products, we provide ongoing service and support.”
A wide range of accreditations supports Chemex franchise owners and franchise turnovers can range from £100,000 to £1 million per annum. Franchise owners see this as a long-term investment, providing security for their futures, particularly in industries driven by legislation.
“Our proudest moment in our Chemex career was being selected as finalists for the British Franchise Association Awards,” says Margaret. “We continue to work towards maintaining these standards and hopefully towards winning more awards in the future.”
Chemex is one of the leading suppliers of hygiene and cleaning products in the UK and Europe. The company has been operating since 1985 and has more than 60 franchise owners serving a wide variety of industry sectors.
“We owe our excellent family life to Chemex and are happy with our business, which continues to meet our financial targets year-on-year and forecast doubling these targets within the next five years,” adds Margaret.
Chemex Managing Director, Michael Graham, says: “Stephen and Margaret’s success has been built on their drive, enthusiasm and satisfaction gained from the network’s customer focus and opportunity to develop flexibly with Chemex.”