360° Painting Ends the First Half of 2020 With Record-Breaking Sales and an Adapted Business Plan

Since 2006, painting-services franchise 360° Painting has become the go-to resource for all things commercial and residential painting. Now, amid a global pandemic, the Premium Service Brands vertical has pivoted to virtual platforms, and the results have been inspiring. The franchise wrapped up the first half of 2020 with record-breaking sales and a plan to continue expanding to new locations across the U.S.

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, 360° Painting has shifted much of its business to focus on how it can continue to help customers virtually. Franchise owners have been working with coaches to learn how to provide virtual estimates for both interior and exterior surfaces. Using video services like FaceTime or Skype, clients are able to share areas of their homes that need to be painted. After a virtual walk-through of the house, apartment or commercial property, owners provide their clients with an emailed estimate to help them make their choice.

In order to keep their clients and employees as safe as possible during the pandemic, 360° Painting is tailoring their services based on recommended guidelines in each area they work in, meaning in some cases they’ve been limited to exterior services, but some have been able to return to interior jobs as well. In homes and commercial spaces that are vacant or large enough to allow for families to properly social distance while painters are in the house, business has continued as usual.

Pandemic impact

Despite the changes the brand has had to accommodate, 360° Painting proves to be an essential business and remains a robust franchise opportunity. In fact, Luke Schulte, vice president of franchise development for Premium Service Brands, said the brand has seen a 35.5% increase in sales since last year. Further, the multi-brand franchisor has seen a 47% increase in aggregate revenue across its six concepts from July 2019 to July 2020.

“Signing new franchisees while simultaneously seeing a boost in year-over-year sales is a huge validator for our brand,” Schulte said. “Not only will 360° Painting now enter new markets with franchisees who are well-established in their communities, but we are doing so at a time when more and more consumers are eager to make improvements to their spaces.”

A pandemic-paralyzed economy hasn’t slowed down the franchise’s expansion efforts either. The franchise has signed 15 new agreements since January, seven of which are in their final stages. The brand is slated to meet their goal of signing 20 new agreements in 2020, with 15 stores opening, entering markets like Tampa, Southern Massachusetts, South Jersey shore, Nebraska, Western Pennsylvania, Central and Southwest Florida and Louisiana. With perseverance like this, It’s no wonder the brand has been named one of the top 5000 fastest growing private companies in America.

New franchisees

Facilitating that growth are new franchisees like Gabe and Jennifer Colons, who are preparing to bring 360° Painting to their community in York, Pennsylvania. Gabe says he and Jennifer decided to join the franchise not only to bring a better quality of painting services to York but also because of the employment opportunities the franchise would allow them to introduce to their community..

“We’ve been in projects throughout our own house because we couldn’t trust the local painters and contractors. We saw 360° Painting as an opportunity to fulfill that gap in the community and for our family to grow together,” Gabe said. “We’re York residents who want to provide job opportunities, and put people before business. We want to make a business a place to work for others.”

Expansion is a big part of 360° Painting’s franchise development strategy, and the brand is excited to continue to ramp things up through the rest of the year.

“Home services is a great industry to be in right now, and it’s one everyone is excited about” Schulte said. “As America continues to spend time at home and the desire for home improvement continues to grow, we’re hopeful for the opportunity to expand with that sentiment.”