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Aussie Pooch Mobile
CHRISTOPHER LOVELOCK AND LORELLE FRAZER

After creating a mobile service that washes dogs outside their owners' homes, a young entrepreneur has successfully franchised the concept. Her firm now has more than 100 franchises in many parts of Australia, as well as a few in other countries. She and her management team are debating how best to plan future expansion.

Elaine and Paul Beal drew up in their 4 X 4 outside 22 Ferndale Avenue, towing a bright blue trailer with red and white lettering. As Aussie Pooch Mobile franchisees whose territory covered four suburbs of Brisbane, Australia, they were having a busy day. It was only 1:00 p.m. and they had already washed and groomed 16 dogs at 12 different houses. Now they …show more content…

Expansion had benefitted from the leverage provided by several master franchisees, who had obtained the rights to work a large territory and sell franchises within it. Said Taylor: I look at the business as if it's my first child. I see it now starting to get into those early teens where it wants to go alone, but it still needs me to hold its hand a little bit, whereas initially it needed me there the whole time. With the support staff we have in place, the business is now gaining the support structure it needs to work without me; this is what I am aiming towards. I appreciate that a team of people can achieve much more than one person alone.

The Service Concept
Aussie Pooch Mobile specialized in bringing its dog washing services to customers' homes. Dogs were washed in a hydrobath installed in a specially-designed trailer, which was parked in the street. The trailer had partly open sides and a roof to provide protection from sun and rain (Exhibit 2). Apart from flea control products and a few grooming aids, APM did not attempt to sell dog food and other pet supplies. The company had resisted the temptation to diversify into other fields. "Our niche is in the dog bathing industry/' declared Chris Taylor: I don't want us to be a jack of all trades because you'll never be good at anything. We now have an exclusive range of products that customer demand has driven us to providing, but we still work closely with vets and pet shops and are by no means a pet shop on

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