Perth couple win national franchise award with their multiple pool shops

In 2006, Perth couple Irene and Ian Hughes ditched their corporate careers and joined the swimming pool and spa industry by purchasing a single Poolwerx franchise in Sorrento.

Their business grew quickly to four stores and five vans servicing pools across Joondalup, Beldon, Hillarys, Ocean Reef, Woodvale and Sorrento. Now they have a multi-million dollar concern with sales in excess of $3 million.

In November they won The Franchise Council of Australia (FCA) Multi-unit Franchisee of the Year Award. Ian Hughes says the award was a welcome surprise and an indication of the deducation and commitment of their 18-strong team.

“To think that we’ve come out ahead of some other very impressive franchises across Australia is very humbling and we certainly didn’t expect it,” he says.

“We started out with one store, added another within two years and then a partnership in 2010 saw us grow to four stores and we have continued to grow year on year at an average of 20 percent despite some tough economic conditions over the past five years.

“We bought out our partners for another 30 percent in 2011 to become 80 percent manager-owners. We left our corporate jobs in pursuit of being the masters of our own destiny, and it is a decision that has paid off in many ways for us, both financially and in lifestyle balance and flexibility.

“It has really been one of the best choices we ever made.”

He says a stronger focus on digital marketing and social media helped propel awareness of the brand and contribute to strong growth last year.

“We dedicated more budget to e-marketing and social media campaigns and the results surprised us. Through one of our Facebook campaigns we increased sales by 35 percent. It also enabled us to widen our customer reach. Social media is now a permanent part of our marketing strategy.”

This is the third time (2012, 2013, 2015) Poolwerx has won the Multi-unit Franchisee of the Year category at the FCA Awards, and it has been a finalist in the category for the past five years.

Poolwerx CEO John O’Brien says the Hughes’s are poster children for the power of franchising in Australia and the potential for it to be big business.

“A common misconception is that franchising is only for people who want a small business, but Ian and Irene are proof of the level you can reach within this industry,” he says.