CARSTAR reached a big milestone for the company with the opening of their 600th store this week in Ontario, Canada. Now, they’re focused on continuing to build and grow the CARSTAR brand in more areas of North America.
“Hitting that 600th store milestone is something truly for us to reflect on and be really grateful for,” said Michael Macaluso, president, CARSTAR. “Being one of the largest collision groups across North America is something we’re truly proud of, but were most proud of the fact that we feel we have the strongest and best partners across the space.”
Macaluso said that the company isn’t stopping at 600 stores and plans to have 660 stores by the end of 2018, most if not all of which he predicted will be in the U.S.
“It’s imperative that this aggressive growth comes with the right balance of performance to ensure that our Edge Platform delivers the performance that is required,” added Macaluso. “This is not a mission to grow at all costs, it’s a mission to partner with the right individuals to help continue to build that CARSTAR brand, ensuring we partner with the right franchisees in the right markets at the right time.”
According to Collin Welsh, director of Canadian franchise development, CARSTAR, the company plans to have a total of 1,000 locations in three years across North America. Welsh called the new 20,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility as the new CARSTAR standard to represent the company’s continuous evolution and push to raise the bar.
Macaluso said that CARSTAR has a desire to grow from within in order to retain and maximize that local community connection with the help of their franchise partners. Because CARSTAR only operates in 34 states in the U.S., Macaluso believes the country offers areas of “white space” to grow CARSTAR’s brand.
“There’s a huge opportunity for our individual stores in the USA to acquire additional stores, and there’s also a big opportunity to venture into markets where we don’t currently have a CARSTAR location like the Great Lakes region, Northern California or in the Carolinas,” Macaluso said. “We have a very targeted and analytical approach to growing within new markets, all the while ensuring performance.”
CARSTAR and its franchise partners employ more than 8,000 people with locations in 34 states and 10 Canadian provinces, including skilled technicians, automotive professionals and corporate team members.
