Sales Performance: Cleaning Services

Sweeping the competition

By Emilee Wentland

Brands in the commercial cleaning category fared well in 2021, with each of the top three brands bringing in more sales than in 2020. On the flip side, carpet cleaner Chem- Dry is down in sales for the second year in a row and has closed nearly 1,000 units in the last two years. The brand saw a $6 million dip in 2021, putting it at the bottom for percentage sales growth—or in this case percentage sales decline. Window Genie pulled in $12 million more in 2021 than the previous year, a 39.1 percent jump for the smaller player. The brand, which operates under the Neighborly umbrella, specializes in window cleaning, tinting and pressure washing. Window Genie partnered with 3M in late 2020, in hopes of increasing its window film sales after the line, named Envision, launched in April 2021. Another top grower in the commercial cleaning category is Fish Window Cleaning, which provides commercial and residential cleaning services, as well as gutter and awning cleaning.

Damage Repair

By Emilee Wentland

Disaster restoration brands continued to do well in 2021, with the top three growers alone pulling in a total of $3.5 billion. ServPro, with sales of $3.3 billion last year, assists consumers with problems related to water, fire, storm and mold damage, among other issues. The brand added 59 locations in 2021. 1-800-Water Damage, a Belfor Franchise Group subsidiary, increased sales by 62.2 percent over 2020, to $51 million, and added 12 units. Belfor also owns commercial cleaning companies Chem-Dry and Hoodz—which also made the Top 500 list—as well as other brands. Ken Osness, Belfor’s VP of franchise development, attributed the continued success of 1-800-Water Damage to the brand demonstrating that it’s “pandemic proof.” “People continued to say, well, this looks like a business that I may want to get into because you guys have proven that you’re pandemic proof, and obviously very recession resistant,” Osness said. The disaster restoration company has increased its unit count by 57 locations since 2019. An increase in natural disasters has also contributed to the growth of 1-800-Water Damage and other restoration brands, Osness said. A few locations added biohazard clean-up to their repertoire, too. “I wouldn’t say it’s a significant new development in terms of revenue, but it’s certainly another potential revenue source that we have,” Osness said. ServiceMaster Restore, which raked in $1.4 billion in sales, is new to the Top 500 list this year. The disaster restoration franchise’s parent company is ServiceMaster Brands, which Roark Capital Group purchased in late 2020.