Meineke to expand in area as auto repair grows

With Americans holding on to their cars longer, and fleet vehicles become more widespread, auto maintenance and repair businesses are on the rise.

The latest example: Meineke Car Care Center plans to open at least six shops in the Columbus area in the coming year — and perhaps as many as eight — more than doubling the company’s four current locations.

The move is part of parent company Driven Brands’ plan to double system-wide sales in the next five years, said Devin Hughes, director of franchise sales for Meineke Car Care Centers.

“We’ve identified areas we’d like to look at, that already have successful units and are also areas for growth in general,” Hughes said. “Columbus is one of them.”

Although central Ohio’s growing population makes it a prime market for most businesses, the increase in average vehicle age across the nation has been particularly important for auto-care businesses.

The average age of vehicles (not including fleet or corporate-owned) increased to 10.5 years in 2017 from 9.3 years in 2009, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Even households making more than $100,000 reported that the average age of their vehicles rose to 8.9 years in 2017 from 7.3 years in 2009.

That means that about 81 million vehicles on the road are at least 16 years old, and that number is expected to rise 20 percent by 2021, Hughes said. With fewer auto dealerships in business and gas-station mechanics scarce, Meineke is far from alone in ramping up to meet the increased need for maintenance and service.

In November, Ricart Automotive Group began a $1 million remodel of a 113,000-square-foot building across the road from the 67-acre Ricart Mega Mall complex to expand its fastgrowing fleet and commercial service offerings.

“Personal-vehicle ownership is declining, and the fleet side has overtaken it,” said Rick Ricart, president and director of sales and marketing of Ricart Automotive Group. “This year, for the first time ever, we sold more trucks through the fleet building than personal retail.”

Meineke looks to attract some of that kind of business with its expansion.

“A big piece of our business is fleet,” Hughes said. “We’ve brought on Avis, Hertz, Enterprise. Those are nice additions because (consumer) business sometimes fluctuates.”

The industry is fragmented, Hughes said, with 65 percent of repair shops still mom-andpop operations, and that would seem to give a brand with high name recognition a leg up.

Meineke is “a 46-year-old brand,” Hughes said. “The stat we have is that 92 percent of adults know the name.”

The company is looking for franchisees for the planned shops. The initial investment ranges from $250,000 to $350,000.

“We help our franchisees from A to Z and also have virtual franchise coaches,” Hughes said.