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Top Cleaning Services Franchises

Commercial Quality

By Laura Michaels

Cleaning franchises pulled in nearly $9 billion in sales last year, with commercial cleaners accounting for $3.9 billion of that as more businesses and property groups opted to outsource their building maintenance. For City Wide, which grew sales by $51 million in 2019, a 20.2 percent increase, CEO Jeff Oddo credited a focus on quality across the board. “We’re trying to be the most professional company in, a lot of times, an industry that’s plagued by mediocrity,” he said, an effort that manifests itself in the appearance of service providers and ongoing learning and development for franchisees. Central to the City Wide model is its network of “thousands of contractors … who are experts in their area of service,” said Oddo, including janitors, plumbers and roofers. Weekly checks by inspectors ensure contractors are performing to City Wide’s standards, leading to higher customer retention, Oddo added.

More services, sales

By Laura Michaels

Natural disasters and property damage from fires and floods continue to mean there’s a market for disaster restoration franchises, which added more than $200 million to their top line in 2019. At Restoration 1, which climbed 55 spots to No. 333 this year, CEO Gary Findley said young franchisees are maturing, as is the company overall, which translates into sales growth. Part of that maturation is being able to win national contracts. “It’s our national accounts business, which we started last year. It’s grown from $1 million to $10 million,” said Findley, who took over the company in 2016. Franchise business consultants also give operators another layer of support, especially as Restoration 1 brings on new service lines. Elsewhere in the segment, PuroClean and Rainbow International saw percentage sales growth in the double digits and SERVPRO, the largest franchise at more than $2.5 billion, increased revenue by $163 million.