Charles Bonfiglio always dreamed of having his own car stereo and accessories shop. Ever since his days of tricking out his Chevelle while in high school in his hometown of Brooklyn, New York, Bonfiglio gained a reputation for fixing up the coolest rides in the neighborhood. By Kelsi Trinidad
Charles Bonfiglio always dreamed of having his own car stereo and accessories shop. Ever since his days of tricking out his Chevelle while in high school in his hometown of Brooklyn, New York, Bonfiglio gained a reputation for fixing up the coolest rides in the neighborhood. After earning his business chops working in the garment industry, he wanted a change of scenery.
In 1983, he packed up two suitcases and bought a one-way ticket to Florida with dreams of opening his very own car stereo shop. But when he arrived, he was met with obstacles from landlords and lenders who were skeptical to work with him without a big business name behind him. Soon after, his cousin shared finding success through franchising with Meineke. It wasn’t quite the car stereo shop Bonfiglio dreamed of – but it was a start.
Bonfiglio made lemonade out of lemons and expanded his Meineke empire to 18 successful stores, but his dream of owning his own business never left him. So, in 2006, he went out in search of other car business opportunities. He came across a small chain company called Tint World, and decided that this time, he would buy the company and use his franchisee experience to franchise the business.
“When I didn’t want to open any more Meineke franchises, I just built the franchise that I always dreamed of,” Bonfiglio said. “I knew what was lacking and what it would take to make a franchise successful.”
Beyond car window tinting, Bonfiglio dreamed of expanding Tint World’s offerings to a wide variety of aftermarket accessories. At the time, most of the aftermarket car businesses only specialized in one accessory or skill, but Bonfiglio envisioned a store that could do it all.
“Whether it was a custom wheel shop, or a tint shop, or a fabrication shop, or custom car stereos, or detailing services – all the different things that people do – they’re all one-off shops. There was nobody that was doing it all,” Bonfiglio explained.
Currently, Tint World® Automotive Styling Centers™ specializes in a large roster of services, including automotive window tinting, paint protection film, vehicle wraps, car audio and electronics, remote start and security, styling accessories, detailing and ceramic coating, and maintenance and installation services. The company is also growing a mobile service that provides tinting for marine, residential and commercial windows. The business has expanded to 119 franchises across the U.S. and internationally, with another 140 locations under development.
This year, Bonfiglio wants to concentrate on expanding the mobile services division of the company. “I believe that can double our chain-wide sales,” he said. “Every store can add half a million dollars in home services. I don’t believe that’s a hard thing to do.”
Even given all his success, Bonfiglio still stays true to his franchisee roots, “My whole thing is to build a culture of success and lifestyle for my franchisees. What makes me happiest is when franchisees are becoming million-dollar-plus stores, and they’re able to achieve the wealth and the gratitude they join the franchise for. To me, I care more about their growth than I do about anything that I do here in the office,” he said.
Kelsi Trinidad