From BodyShop Business

CARSTAR has announced that its recent Acceleration 2019 Conference in Chicago was a success and left franchise partners ready to apply what they learned to drive their business in the year ahead.

With goals of reaching more than $2 billion in sales and more than 1,100 collision repair locations across the continent by 2021, CARSTAR shared an aggressive growth strategy with its franchise partners, insurance carriers and vendor partners during the conference.

“We embarked on a strategic growth plan with our franchise partners several years ago, and we have worked together in lockstep to deliver the highest-quality collision repairs, provide excellent customer service and give back to the communities we serve,” said Michael Macaluso, president of CARSTAR. “That collective commitment to our performance has driven our network’s growth with more than 100 new locations in the past 12 months, expansion of our insurance relationships, strong same-store sales and increased profitability for our franchise partners.”

Soul Stroll

The CARSTAR Acceleration 2019 Conference opened on Wednesday, July 11 with awards for the top cystic fibrosis fundraisers in the CARSTAR network, presented by Cystic Fibrosis Canada and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Then, more than 300 participants donned CARSTAR colors as they took to the streets and parks of Chicago for the “Soul Stroll” to share the message about supporting the cystic fibrosis cause. The event included a scenic stroll by Grant Park along the shores of Lake Michigan.

The Founders

Macaluso officially opened the event with an address to the gathered audience that afternoon, sharing the vision, goals and path to success for the organization. He then moderated a Q&A with CARSTAR founder Lirel Holt and Canadian master franchisor Sam Mercanti about their journey building CARSTAR over the past 30 years.

Franchise Partners of the Year

Following the tour of CARSTAR history, Macaluso announced the 2019 CARSTAR franchise partners of the year. Jamie White, a franchise partner for almost 10 years and owner of CARSTAR Dalton South and CARSTAR Ken’s North, took home the U.S. honors while Paul Cross, owner of CARSTAR Lindsay, CARSTAR Haliburton and CARSTAR Bancroft, was honored for his accomplishments in Canada.

Wrigley Field

The evening closed with a special trip to iconic Wrigley Field – home of the Chicago Cubs – where conference guests had an opportunity to enjoy local specialties like Chicago-style hot dogs and Italian beef sandwiches, with opportunities to tour the stadium, hit some homers in the batting cages and meet Cubs stars Ryne Sandberg and Lee Smith.

Keynote Speakers

Throughout the event, keynote speakers shared presentations on industry trends, new approaches to customer connections and new business opportunities on the horizon with the assembled group of more than 1,100 people. Key speakers included:

• Hod Lipson, professor of engineering & data Science
• Jay Baer, founder of Convince & Convert Consulting
• Sean Carey, SCG Management Consultants LLC
• Jason Verlen, senior vice president of product strategy & product management, CCC

CARSTAR Corporate

CARSTAR corporate team members from operations, insurance, development, marketing and procurement shared the success stories of the past year and outlined the initiatives for the year ahead. And for the first time, CARSTAR hosted an OEM panel of representatives of the top automakers to discuss the role of OEM certifications and OEM-directed repairs in the future. Breakout sessions each afternoon provided franchise partners opportunities for more in-depth sessions on insurance programs, advanced technology, certifications, operational performance and customer service.

Vendors

There also was an opportunity for CARSTAR’s vendor partners to showcase new products, services and solutions they’re offering as part of CARSTAR’s procurement program, which provides cost savings and rebates through Driven Brands’ buying power. More than 60 companies exhibited at the CARSTAR Vendor Expo, giving each vendor significant exposure to the CARSTAR network.

Dinner and Awards Gala

The annual CARSTAR Dinner and Awards Gala took place Friday evening, complete with a Chicago Roaring 20s theme, where conference guests donned flapper dresses and zoot suits. There, they named the additional top performers in the CARSTAR system and recognized the CARSTAR franchise partners for their years of service. CARSTAR locations from across the U.S. and Canada were honored at the event.

CARSTAR closed the evening with dueling pianos and impassioned effort among franchise owners and vendor partners to inspire additional contributions for cystic fibrosis research, care and advocacy. Going into the final evening, more than $30,000 was raised from the Soul Stroll walk for cystic fibrosis, sock sales with proceeds and a vendor trade show game which included an arcade-style basketball game. At the final gala, franchise partners, vendors and corporate staff all rallied again to present a donation in order to get their song played on the dueling pianos.  

Notable donations came from:

• AkzoNobel
• Progi
• Intercorp
• CARSTAR Quebec Group of stores 
• CARSTAR St. Louis Business Group
• CARSTAR Colorado Business Group
• The MacKay and Kember families in Atlantic Canada
• The Mercanti family
• CARSTAR London East and West
• CARSTAR Thunder Bay
• CARSTAR Strathroy and CARSTAR St. Thomas
• CARSTAR Quality Assured – Terminal
• CARSTAR’s corporate development team
• Driven Brands

Final donations came from the Greater Toronto Area stores, who excitedly donated while celebrating the fact that Toronto was announced as the host city for CARSTAR’s 2020 conference. 

“I have never been more proud to be a part of the CARSTAR family and to be working for this outstanding network of franchise partners,” added Macaluso. “We, together as our entire network, truly embodied the spirit of acceleration, from everyone’s commitment to building their businesses and driving the overall CARSTAR goals to their passion for supporting cystic fibrosis and our dream of helping find a cure for cystic fibrosis by 2021. It was a tremendous conference – certainly befitting of our 30th anniversary – and I believe everyone departed ready to grow and succeed in the next 30 years.”

For more information on CARSTAR, visit CARSTAR.com or CARSTAR.ca.