Birmingham tyre servicing retailer HiQ is creating up to 500 new jobs as it expands its franchise programme around the country.
The firm, which has its headquarters in Erdington and is part of the Goodyear Dunlop group, plans to open 136 new centres across the UK in the next three years, doubling the size of its empire.
The company started its expansion in 2008 when 106 parent-company owned HiQ centres were franchised. The firm said the model had been a success and was now ready to be rolled out in more and cities.
The franchise programme is expanding quickly, with 41 franchisees now operating 137 HiQ centres, compared to just 15 franchisees operating 33 centres in 2007.
HiQ retail director Juergen Titz said: “The objective is to grow the business with new open points in towns and cities. The plan is to get 170 centres by the end of 2009 and 275 by 2012.
“The franchisee network is investing more than £2 million into improved customer environments in 2009, and this award winning franchise concept will increase transparency and certainty for our customers.”
HiQ has invested heavily in a bespoke training programme for its employees as part of the new franchise brand. Mr Titz said the investment was necessary to keep the firm competitive in the years to come.
He added: “To promise fast fit you can be sure of requires significant investment and a clear understanding of our core beliefs within our franchise business structure. We know that franchisees are aligned with this belief which is key in out-performing our competitors.
“The increased profile of HiQ, and our long term commitment to the network, has played a major role in attracting quality franchise investments.”
Mr Titz took over as retail director of Goodyear Dunlop - the owner of Birmingham-based Dunlop Tyres – in January.
After leading the firm’s European strategy for years, he had been a key mover behind the growth of the HiQ franchise.
About the same time, HiQ sold 27 of its motoring centres to Easy Auto centres, making the firm one of the biggest firms in the servicing business.
The growth of the HiQ franchise programme was one of the UK tyre industry’s success stories in 2008, with the network celebrating the signing of its 100th franchise store partnership after its launch in March last year.
