A S F E A T U R E D I N A U S T R A L I A N C O N S T R U C T I O N F O C U S

BUILDING FRANCHISE SUCCESS

Smith and Sons Renovations & Extensions

The group realised that there was a strong market for renovation, but that “nobody was actually franchising

it.” The team took the leap from idea to company in 2008 under the name Smith & Sons Renovations & Extensions, and “just started selling franchises from there.” Within 18

months the company had 20 offices...

Smith and Sons Renovations & Extensions

Written by Claire Suttles

In 2007 four friends had an idea that they couldn’t resist.

Corey Passey, Darren Wallis, Leigh Wallis, and Greg

Gardner all had experience in new home building and

franchising, and they all noticed that many previous custom-

ers would later come back to have their homes expanded.

The group realised that there was a strong market for renova-

tion, but that “nobody was actually franchising it,” Co-founder

and Director Corey Passey reports. The team took the leap

from idea to company in 2008 under the name Smith & Sons

Renovations & Extensions, and “just started selling franchises

from there.” Within 18 months the company had 20 offices

open across Australia and New Zealand. Mr Passey explains

that there isn’t actually a Smith (or sons) involved. Rather, the

team chose a name that would suggest a family business and

reflect the team’s old fashioned values and a solid work ethic.

“Everybody knows a Smith right?” Mr Passey explains. “We

could have called ourselves Renovation Experts… but Smith

& Sons has got a certain ring to it and it’s worked.”

The founding directors work out of Smith & Sons’ corpo-

rate office in Mooloolaba Queensland. The corporate office

is focused on selling Master Franchise areas and supporting

Master Franchises once they become operational. “Those

Masters then sell the model to builders, help support the

builders and set them up in business,” Mr Passey explains.

Smith & Sons has sold three master franchise areas in New

Zealand, one in Queensland, and two in New South Wales,

and the team is currently on the lookout for Masters in Victo-

ria, Adelaide and Perth.

Franchisees pay a small fee to buy into the group within one of

the Master Franchise areas. “We’re not expensive,” Mr Passey

says. “For most builders to go to another level they have to buy

into a new home building company franchise which is really

quite expensive [and requires] a lot of capital.” Smith & Sons

offers an option for less established builders. “We’re taking guys

as young as, 25 years old,” Mr Passey reports. After joining the

company, franchisees are provided with a start-up pack that

includes various business essentials such as branded t-shirts,

brochures, software, and business cards. They also receive

initial systems training at the company’s training centre. “We

take a smaller builder who wants to grow his business and we

provide him with the systems and processes to take him to

another level,” Mr Passey explains, “And teach him how to run

a building company more effectively.” Franchisees receive

ongoing support and all the benefits of a larger corpora-

tion, whilst remaining small business owners. “It’s giving the

smaller guys a chance to be more professional and take more

market share,” Mr Passey says, “And helping them be more

competitive.” The payment structure follows the standard

franchise building company model, with branches invoiced

monthly based on a percentage of their job started. If the

branch doesn’t earn anything during a pay period, then they

pay no fees as all.

Smith & Sons takes care of every aspect of a renovation, from

“concept to completion.” The process is aided through the

use of an office space, or

design centre, in every fran-

chise. “The thing that sets us

apart from other small build-

ers is that we set our franchise

up into a design centre,” Mr

Passey says. “People actu-

ally have a location to come and sit and talk to the builder,

whereas most builders do business on the bonnet of their ute

with the dog barking in the back. We’ve got a professional

office and it’s got samples of building products and kitchen

colours and that sort of thing. It’s a nice professional environ-

ment [for customers to] sit down and talk about what they

want to do.” Most branches also have Project Consultants

who specialise in renovation design and can assist customers

in planning and personalising their project.

Mr Passey estimates the renovation market in Australia to

be around $31 billion according to the HIA stats. “There are

a lot of builders who do renovations,” he admits. With so

much competition, the company has to set itself apart to

stay ahead. Individual branches benefit from shared market-

ing and branding, group buying power, and ongoing train-

ing and support. The company doesn’t promise customers

significant savings, but focuses instead on offering superior

service and skills. “We don’t say that we’re going to be the

cheapest. We don’t promote… a cheap renovation. That’s

not what we’re about. We’re more about quality and getting

the job done right the first time, on time, and [within] budget.”

The Smith & Sons’ approach has been extremely success-

ful. BRW recently named the company the fastest growing

franchise in Australia by outlets, and the second fastest

growing by revenue. Furthermore, the company enjoyed high

growth rates even during the Global Financial Crisis. “Within

six months of starting [Smith & Sons] the GFC came into full

swing,” Mr Passey recalls. “We turned that to our advantage. A

lot of builders were without work. A lot of them were strug-

gling. We went in on the angle

that joining our company

will help you out with mar-

keting, will get you more

leads, better pricing, [and

help you] be more competi-

tive, because it’s going to be

harder the next few years.” The angle worked. In fact, Mr

Passey believes that the GFC actually helped the company

expand. He also believes that joining Smith & Sons helped

builders themselves through the crisis. “We’ve got a lot of

happy franchisees,” he reports. “Most of the guys that have

come on board have either doubled or tripled their turnover.”

The company recently conducted a survey to judge franchisee

satisfaction and found that “100 per cent of them were happy

that they signed up and would sign up again.” That’s rare

in any business!

Smith & Sons credits a fair share of its success to a tireless local

and national marketing campaign. “Our branding is really

strong,” Mr Passey reports, and “[We are] very staunch on our

branding.” Franchisee requirements include driving a black

vehicle with the proper signage and wearing a black shirt with

the Smith & Sons logo while on the job. Mr Passey reports

that the branding is paying off and the Smith & Sons logo

and colours are becoming increasingly recognised. New fran-

chisees instantly benefit from the positive reputation that the

company has built. “They get… all our branding that we’ve

done and continue to do. They come in under our banner,”

Mr Passey explains. Corporate headquarters is responsible for

all marketing and associated costs, so franchisees continue to

benefit over the long term.

Smith & Sons also utilises the internet and social media to

promote the company and attract customers. “We do quite a

lot of work with Google,” Mr Passey reports, “just getting our

rankings up there.” Right now, there is only one Smith & Sons

website, and the team is currently building over 50 new sites,

each one individually tailored to promote a specific branch.

The company hopes the effort will bring more attention to

each of its franchisees and improve search engine optimisa-

tion. The current Smith & Sons website offers contact and

location information for each branch, renovation and design

ideas, testimonials from satisfied customers, and photos of

key projects. The website also features an intranet accessible

only to franchisees that helps unite the separate branches. In-

tranet resources include administration and marketing files,

reports, and business advice.

In order to attract new franchisees, Smith & Sons advertises

in trade magazines and franchise magazines. The team also

does a good deal of telemarketing directly to builders. The

company has a strong relationship with “all the major suppli-

ers” and even credits some of them with aiding recruitment.

“We’ve gone to a local Bunnings store and asked ‘who are your

top ten renovators in this area?’ and they’ve given us names,”

Mr Passey says. “These guys have backed us since day one and

helped us get established.”

Smith & Sons has achieved tremendous growth since its in-

ception, and the team plans to continue its rapid expansion

both domestically and internationally. First, the firm aims to

create 100 franchises in Australia. Currently at 52 franchises,

it has made it over halfway to its goal in just four years. After

the 100th franchise opens in Australia, the company plans

to expand to Canada and the UK and perhaps even more

countries after that. To get to that point the team is focusing

on “Really growing the franchise as much as we can. [We]

really want to get our name out and grow our business.” Of

course, creating new franchises means attracting new build-

ers. “We’re looking for quality builders who are interested in

growing a business,” Mr Passey says. “We’d love to talk to

anyone who is interested.”

SMITH AND SONSwww.smith-sons.com.au

675 Victoria Street | Abbotsford VIC 3067

Phone: 02 8412 8119 | ABN 93 143 238 126