CLEVELAND, Ohio – Weed Man USA continues to expand rapidly across the nation with 44 new territories added in 2016, bringing its total count to 503 territories served. The company expects to reach 544 territories by year end and increase system-wide sales by more than 12 percent.
Driving the franchise growth were existing franchisees who accounted for 28 of the new territories last year. Franchisees nationwide are experiencing increased consumer demand and are expanding their territories to meet the need.
“Weed Man has grown rapidly over the past few years and as our brand awareness has strengthened with it, more consumers are turning to our franchisees to better their lawns,” said Jennifer Lemcke, COO of Turf Holdings, Inc., the company that owns the expansion rights for Weed Man USA. Lemcke noted that 2016 revenues surpassed $91 million, a 9.74 percent increase over 2015, and that the franchise has been recognized year after year by both Forbes and Entrepreneur magazines as one of the nation’s top franchise investments. Additionally, it just received the Franchise Times Zor Award for being one of 2017’s Best Franchises to Buy.
“Our existing franchisees account for nearly 75 percent of the new territories we added in 2016,” said Lemcke. “They take pride in being the number one local source for any lawn care needs, and are expanding their territories to bring these communities the high-level care businesses and home owners are seeking.”
Outside of consumer demand, existing franchisees are adding more trucks to their fleets to take advantage of Weed Man USA’s declining royalty fee stream. Through this royalty fee structure the franchisees pay a reduced amount when they add a truck on the road – with three trucks they pay 75 percent of the royalty fee and after four trucks it is reduced to 50 percent of the royalty fee.
Husband and wife team Corbin and Audrey Schlatter, who recently received the company’s 2016 Award of Excellence, expanded their Columbus territory to include Greene County and Dayton, Ohio. The Award of Excellence symbolizes operational excellence in all aspects of the franchise and, internally, is the highest honor a Weed Man franchisee can receive. The Schlitter’s have achieved over $2 million in annual sales.
“We noticed a large amount of our potential customer base was in nearby Greene County. We took the interest from the local residents as a sure sign that the growth opportunity would be backed by the popular demand,” said Corbin Schlatter. “Since then, we have set up a local office to recruit part-time and seasonal workers for the new service area.”
Another franchise growth driver for Weed Man USA is expansion with independent operators who have added the franchise to their existing business – most often they are lawn care, landscape, pest control or golf course management companies. Many of them purchase a Weed Man USA franchise to diversify revenue streams and ensure the long-term value of their businesses. There are currently 194 franchise agreements across the U.S., all independently owned and operated.
