A YOUNG Perth couple have created the first retail outlet for Jim’s Group – the predominantly home service franchise famous for its bearded bloke icon.
Julie and Peter Velzen have gone into partnership with the group to create the first Jim’s branded shops.
They have turned their Perth Pool Shops into Jim’s Pool Care.
The new franchise already has four mobile franchisees.
Ms Velzen said she and her husband had built up their pool shop business, which has two outlets – one in Beldon and one in Kingsley.
"Earlier this year we were looking at franchising them but we found it would be very expensive and that we would have to change the name," she said.
The reasoning behind the name change is that Perth Pool Shops probably would not go down very well when trying to sell a franchise in Sydney or Melbourne.
"We looked at what other people were doing. We saw Jim’s had franchised most other types of businesses under the banner but didn’t have a pool operation," Ms Velzen said.
"We spoke to [Jim’s group founder] Jim Penman and after about three months of speaking and negotiating we got it off the ground.
"I think one of the things that made us attractive is that there is no Jim’s anything shop. All of the franchises under the banner are mobile ones."
Indeed, there are comparable franchises on offer in the eastern States.
Mr Penman said he had been wanting to break into the retail market for some time.
"Julie and Peter approached me earlier this year with the idea to franchise their pool shops and after seeing the successful businesses they had built in less than two years I knew they were right for Jim’s Group," he said.
Ms Velzen said the pool shops she and her husband ran had been offering both mobile and retail services.
"We opted to contract out the mobile services and that made a huge difference on the retail side," she said.
"We increased our sales by 40 per cent when we did that."
A Jim’s Pool Care mobile franchise costs $19,990. One eastern States competitor Pool Works is understood to charge $70,000 for a similar franchise.