In the first of our multi-part coverage on this historic event, we highlight some key takeaways including franchise profitability, brand visibility and network support.

It’s not every day that you have the opportunity to celebrate a 30^th anniversary, which is why this year’s CARSTAR Velocity Conference was a truly special event.

The venue was the Victoria Conference Centre, adjacent to the historic Empress Hotel in beautiful downtown Victoria, British Columbia.

For three days, CARSTAR franchise partners, corporate team members, vendors, media and other key industry stakeholders gathered for what proved to be a truly insightful and entertaining experience—one that celebrated 30 years of success for the network in Canada.

Harbour Hustle and CF

For more than 25 years, CARSTAR has supported Cystic Fibrosis Canada, and the event kicked off with Harbour Hustle—a charity walk through downtown Victoria that saw attendees (accompanied by cheerleaders from the B.C. Lions CFL team) raise more than $7,000 in support of the charity during this one specific event. Since partnering with Cystic Fibrosis Canada, CARSTAR has raised more than $5 million in support of advocacy, care and research for the disease. CARSTAR also took the opportunity to recognize the top fundraisers in the network for Cystic Fibrosis over the past year which comprised of:

• CARSTAR Centennial Group
• CARSTAR Johnny K Group
• CARSTAR LC Group
• CARSTAR TORCAM Group
• CARSTAR MGM Group
• CARSTAR St-Felix de Valois and CARSTAR Rawdon
• CARSTAR London West and CARSTAR London East
• CARSTAR Thunder Bay (Half-Way Motors)
• CARSTAR Newmarket
• CARSTAR Chicoutimi

Following the walk, the official program got underway at the convention centre. A special opening ceremony [featuring a land acknowledgement display by lək̓ʷəŋən Traditional Dancers], was followed by a welcome introduction and an Executive Leadership message from Michael Macaluso, Executive Vice President and President of Paint, Collision & Glass for Driven Brands.

Macaluso delivered a very impactful message touching on key issues that are being felt across the industry, including profitability and margin compression due to the current economic and operating climate, as well as the importance of solid relationships between collision centres and other key stakeholders in the repair process, such as OEMs and insurers.

Recognition for service

Following the Executive Message, CARSTAR franchise partners received recognition for years of service during a special awards ceremony, after which, things cranked up a notch with a special 30^th Anniversary Birthday Bash in the marquee just in front of the Victoria Conference Centre. In attendance for a special 30^th birthday cake cutting ceremony were original CARSTAR Canada franchise partners, and with live music and an excellent spread of food, fun was had by all.

Day two began with a welcome message, followed by an Executive Message from Sabrina Thring, President, Collision, for Driven Brands, and Dave Foster, Senior Vice President, Operations and Development for CARSTAR Canada. Thring acknowledged CARSTAR’s vendor partners that help make events like this possible, as well as the CARSTAR planning and marketing team, program team and CARSTAR Advisory Council that are able to execute these conferences so effectively and provide consistent and robust support for driving excellence, customer satisfaction and franchise profitability, growth and success.

Thring noted that being number one comes down to the people that make it happen, “and without everyone that is here in this room, we cannot be industry leaders,” she stated. “So, thank you for everything you do for our franchise network.”

In looking back over her nine years with CARSTAR, Thring talked about how what the network has become and why this 30^th Anniversary celebration was so significant. From humble beginnings in Canada, CARSTAR has grown to become the premier collision repair franchise across the country and Thring acknowledged that in that drive to become the best in the business, not only is it about being the repairer of choice for consumers who need their vehicles fixed, but the employer of choice as well.

Core aspects

She noted that while huge strides have been made in the last 30 years there is still a lot of work to be done, and by focusing on the core aspects of “purpose”, “drive” and “energy,” the network is looking forward to exciting times ahead as it continues its mission to be the global leader in vehicle collision repair.

Dave Foster talked about growth and three key factors that are essential in achieving that:

• Franchise profitability
• Growth in new locations
• Growth in operational performance

Foster proudly announced that today, 30 years since Sam Mercanti established CARSTAR in Canada, the network boasts 310 locations across the country. “This milestone is a testament to the dedication and resilience and collective effort of our entire CARSTAR family,” Foster stated.

He acknowledged, that when it comes to profitability, the success of CARSTAR’s franchised partners is paramount to the success of the network, which is why CARSTAR is committed to provide the tools and resources to ensure its franchisees succeed.

New locations

Foster also talked about the growth in new stores, with 15 new locations having already opened in 2024 and another 15 planned by the end of the year.

“The reality is we are operating in a very competitive market today,” said Foster noting that CARSTAR has a real opportunity to grow and elevate its business by leveraging operational excellence. Operational performance encompasses everything—from efficiency, and process, to the quality of service for every car that gets repaired. “Operational excellence will not only enhance customer satisfaction but result in sustained growth and profitability,” Foster stated.

Melissa Kwiatkowski, Vice President, Marketing, Collision for Driven Brands was next on stage and talked about the 30-year legacy that is CARSTAR in Canada—one that is a true testament to the hard work and commitment of everyone within the network and represents the realization of Sam Mercanti’s vision back in 1994.

“And that is something that as your marketing team, we hold near and dear to us,” said Kwiatkowski. “We are here to help you,” she explained and talked about three focus initiatives the marketing team is actively engaged in:

• Bringing and building that CARSTAR brand awareness
• Helping stores hire
• Driving leads to the door

On the subject of brand awareness, Kwiatkowski mentioned that last year, the marketing team engaged in a research study “to understand our customers a little bit more and what’s important to them, what impacts their decisions and how they ultimately choose somebody to repair their vehicle.”

Empowered customers

She noted that the important message here was that more than ever, customers are empowered to choose where they do business “and we want to make sure they choose us [when it comes to vehicle collision repairs].” She noted that positive brand association and recognition are key to helping consumers consider a brand like CARSTAR for fixing their vehicle. She also noted that understanding how consumers find the brand, as well as the research tools they use, are imperative to driving more business to the door, as well as the values that the brand and business represent, such as trust, safely repairing the vehicle and having friendly and helpful staff that go the extra mile to ensure the best experience possible.

Kwiatkowski also talked about the importance of brand awareness in local markets and how, by supporting local sports teams and giving back via community initiatives such as donating vehicles to families or businesses, as well as raising money through charities, or sponsoring infrastructure and other community project can pay big dividends.

She also talked about corporate marketing initiatives under way, including the reintroduction of the famous CARSTAR ad campaign where accidents unhappen, that are helping to spread brand awareness at the national level, which in turn, filters down to individual stores via an updated website platform and tools needed to help franchise partners thrive in their markets.

Great reputation

On the hiring side, she noted that an essential factor in attracting the right people was having a great reputation as a great employer and standing out amid other businesses operating in your market—not just those in the collision repair space, but restaurants, retail and other sectors. For lead generation, Kwiatkowski introduced Steve Richer, of Espace M, a media agency that works closely with CARSTAR on helping drive leads to doors, particularly in major metro markets where competition is fierce, search volumes are high, and consumers are faced with multiple choices when it comes to collision repairs.

In these kinds of situations, it’s important that businesses stand out online and that consumers can quickly and efficiently find you through the noise. Richer talked about the effectiveness of high quality paid online search ads in driving business to your door, sharing results with attendees that prove the power of these ads in enhancing business opportunities and ultimately, profitability and success.