Moran Family of Brands manages Mr. Transmission, Milex Complete Auto Care and Alta Mere (recently rebranded Turbo Tint). Respectively, the businesses repair and install transmission systems and drivetrain components, offer a wide menu of general automotive-repair services, and provide automotive window-film and paint protection film installation. By Nancy E. Williams
Moran Family of Brands manages Mr. Transmission, Milex Complete Auto Care and Alta Mere (recently rebranded Turbo Tint). Respectively, the businesses repair and install transmission systems and drivetrain components, offer a wide menu of general automotive-repair services, and provide automotive window-film and paint protection film installation. Although each specializes in something different, all three brands provide a one-stop shop for customers with auto-care solutions, promoting long-term customer relationships and delivering more revenue streams for franchise owners.
In 2020, Moran Family of Brands implemented a number of changes to respond to the pandemic. The two major initiatives focused on pickup and delivery and the complete sanitization of every vehicle serviced. Pick up and delivery provided customers with 100% contactless service. This allowed Mr. Transmission and Milex shops to schedule a time with a customer to retrieve their vehicle from their home, make the repair at the shop, and return the vehicle safely to the customer’s home, with the payment transaction occurring over the phone. In addition, the new sanitization program drew a great deal of attention from the media, with 30 franchisees being covered on the local news, providing insights and tips on vehicle cleanliness.
“We were extremely pleased with our performance in 2020, despite the pandemic,” said Peter Baldine, president of Moran Family of Brands. “We were deemed an essential business, so after the initial drop in business from the shelter-in-place orders starting in the summer, everything recovered well.”
Moran Family of Brands saw sales growth in 2020 compared to 2019. “We had been talking about implementing pickup and delivery for a while, but it was challenging to get all franchisees on board with a certain speed.
The pandemic gave us the opportunity to move ahead with implementation rapidly,” Baldine explained. Even though more customers feel comfortable going inside the shop, pickup and delivery are now a permanent part of their service offerings due to the program’s success.
In addition to the changes at Mr. Transmission and Milex, 2020 brought significant changes to the Alta Mere brand and service as well. Baldine explained, “We’ve rebranded the name to Turbo Tint, and we were wildly successful in our beta testing of creating a new in-store experience for our customers. We built a new website, created online appointment scheduling and started offering one-hour guaranteed installation times – also enabling payment online.” Baldine describes the new experience – which includes new customer lounges, fireplaces, free Wi-Fi, and complimentary refreshments (including beer and wine) – as “Starbucks-like.”
“We beta-tested this new store experience on a legacy store that has been around for 25 years. Older stores typically have a small growth rate. However, during the beta test, this store grew by 23% – during the pandemic! Ultimately, April 2020 sales outperformed April 2019 sales by $10,000,” Baldine shared. As a result, 11 new Turbo Tint units were sold before the formal program was even launched. The goal is to launch 20 more in 2021.
Baldine went on to explain another successful aspect of Moran Family of Brands: the franchisee experience. “One of our greatest assets is how much we focus on supporting our franchisees. We’ve increased the level of our communication with existing franchisees, and it has really paid off. When we are working with new candidates going through the sales process, we benefit tremendously from how highly our owners talk about us during validation. By the time they attend Discovery Day, the feedback they’ve received from owners is fantastic,” Baldine said. “We’re excited to see owners making money and accomplishing their goals.” There truly is no better compliment to a franchisor than franchisees telling candidates how great the system is and why they should come aboard.
In addition to the company’s other goals, the Mr. Transmission and Milex brands are looking to grow by 15 units in 2021. They just opened a new location on February 1, in Concord, North Carolina, and will be opening three additional units in the next 30 days. Between all three brands, they expect to grow by 35 units. If you are considering franchise ownership and have had previous success in business, possess leadership skills, and are a good communicator, Moran Family of Brands could be a great fit for you. No automotive experience is required.
To learn more about Moran Family of Brands, visit moranfamilyofbrands.com.
– Nancy E. Williams