New Partnership with Driven Brands Already Delivering Operational Improvements,
Purchasing Efficiencies to the Network
LEAWOOD, KS (January 28, 2016) – For CARSTAR Auto Body Repair Experts, the new partnership with Driven Brands is set to catapult it into its most successful year for network growth, operational efficiencies and increased sales and profit. With record performance in 2015, CARSTAR has the strong foundation, leadership team and excellent franchise network across the U.S. and Canada to continue to lead the North American collision industry.
The hallmark achievement for 2015 was CARSTAR’s acquisition by Driven Brands, which provides the company opportunities for accelerated growth of the CARSTAR brand across North America, while continuing the strong insurance relationships and reputation for the highest quality repairs and industry leading KPIs. Driven Brands is providing centralized resources to fuel this growth, as well as new operating efficiencies through the existing franchising structure.
“CARSTAR now has the ability to share best of class business practices with other leading multi-unit franchise businesses, both inside and outside of the automotive aftermarket industry,” said Jose Costa, president, Driven Brands Paint & Collision Division. “With the full integration of CARSTAR’s U.S. and Canadian operations, we have a premier, powerful network upon which to build, and look forward to achieving new levels of success in the year ahead.”
CARSTAR Delivered Record Results in 2015
Key accomplishments in 2015 included:
- Record revenue across the North American network, which again made CARSTAR the largest MSO in North America
- Record same store sales, the highest in the collision industry
- Strong CSI results: 9.5 for quality and 9.6 for customer service
- The industry’s highest average NPS scores of 83
- Implementation of the new store branding program in more than 150 locations across America
- Launch of the new partnership with Enterprise Rent-A-Car
- National rollout of the CARSTAR aluminum repair program
- National implementation of the proprietary CARSTAR EDGE performance program, with many stores achieving Tier I, II and III certification
- Addition of two national performance-based insurance programs, with more to come
- More than 200 stores now participating in national performance-based agreement and MSO programs
- CARSTAR was ranked 106th on Franchise Times® annual Top 200™ ranking of the largest franchise systems in North America
- The Romans Group LLC ranked CARSTAR as the No. 1 largest MSO again in 2015
- CARSTAR was once again named to the Kansas City Business Journal’s Top 150 Private Companies list, moving up from 20 last year to 18 this year
CARSTAR Outlines Strategic Growth Plans for 2016
For the year ahead, CARSTAR and Driven Brands are focused on growing the CARSTAR network across the U.S. and Canada, delivering continued operational improvements and providing purchasing efficiencies. Key initiatives include:
- Driving unit growth across the U.S. and Canada through aggressive store development
- Increasing organic growth at its current locations through the proprietary EDGE Performance Platform, operating efficiencies and new fleet and insurance programs
- Continuing to execute against performance-based agreements with the major insurance carriers and secure more of these relationships
- Delivering a refreshed consumer brand that showcases CARSTAR as the premier provider of collision repair services
- Leverage the Driven Brands synergies for efficiency and cost-savings
“We have been on a path of rapid growth and increased performance for the past three years, and the new partnership with Driven Brands provides fuel to accelerate our growth. Our store owners, our insurance partners and our vendor partners have embraced our new parent company and are excited about the new benefits they bring. We look forward to a great year ahead.”
Already, the Driven Brands partnership is delivering new improvements in operations, purchasing and technology. With the back office resources of Driven Brands, CARSTAR has been able to take advantage of significant economies of scale that will help reduce CARSTAR expenses and move at least part of those savings over to support the franchise base.
On the purchasing front, with the combined purchasing power of CARSTAR (US and Canada) and Driven Brands, CARSTAR now has the single largest purchasing force in the automotive aftermarket industry. The company also is implementing new technology across Driven Brands that helps it capture and manage data more effectively, which allows it to manage more efficiently. This will allow franchisees to manage their stores more efficiently and be able to measure and share the metrics that insurance companies demand.
About CARSTAR
CARSTAR Auto Body Repair Experts– a part of the Driven Brands, Inc. family of automotive aftermarket franchise brands — is North America’s largest Multi-Shop Operator Network of independently owned collision repair facilities with more than 450 locations in 30 states and 10 Canadian provinces. CARSTAR delivers national scale, consistently high-quality vehicle repairs, repeatable outcomes and the industry’s highest customer satisfaction ratings; all repairs are backed by a national warranty and service guarantee. It was ranked 106th on Franchise Times® annual Top 200™ ranking of the largest franchise systems in North America and was named 18th on the Kansas City Business Journal’s Top 150 Private Companies list. The Romans Group LLC ranked CARSTAR the No. 1 largest MSO in North America. For more information visit www.carstar.com and follow us on Facebook and twitter. CARSTAR is actively seeking new franchisees.