A CARWASH chain is expanding in Cebu as the demand for car maintenance peaks up despite the global financial crisis.

Since it introduced its franchising system late last year, Nice Day! Car Wash already has three franchisees—located in V. Rama Ave., North Reclamation Area and Labangon, Cebu City. A fourth franchisee will soon put up an outlet in Arlington St., near Velez Hospital.

Nice Day! general manager Leon Quimpo said the company is focusing on having more franchised branches in Metro Cebu, although it is also considering possibilities for expansion in Bohol and Dumaguete City in Oriental Negros.

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“Cebu is booming. The rate of cars being registered every year is increasing. And many professionals, like those working in call centers, can afford to buy even a second-hand car,” said Quimpo.

When Nice Day! started in 2002 in Mandaue City, he said, it was only the fifth or sixth car wash center in Cebu. At present, he said, there are now more than 60 car wash outlets in the province.

“But we hold more than 40 percent of the market,” he added.

Nice Day! marketing manager Michelle Lim also said that due to the global economic turmoil, people are more concerned with maintaining their cars rather than buying new ones.

The franchisees—who used to be Nice Day! regular customers—said they work on 30 to 40 cars a day, an indication that there is a high demand for car wash services.

“And the number is increasing daily,” said businessman Marvin Go, whose Nice Day! Car Wash outlet at the North Reclamation Area caters to shoppers and tenants of nearby SM City Cebu.

Since the business is “saleable” and “manageable,” Nice Day is a good investment for start-up entrepreneurs and investors who cannot attend to the business all the time, said Quimpo.

Overseas Filipino worker Richard Cadungog entrusted his brother-in-law Emerito Llano to manage his franchise in V. Rama while Vince Yap, a full-time sales professional, hired a staff to supervise his franchise in Labangon.

Quimpo explained that under their franchising system, investors can take over an existing branch or apply for a new site. The estimated initial investment is more than P300,000.

Operations manager Erma Quiroga disclosed that the company has received several inquiries from persons who are interested in investing in existing Nice Day! Car Wash branches, as well as in putting up new sites in Tacloban (Leyte), Talisay, Minglanilla and at the Mandaue reclamation area near Parkmall.

A member of the Association of Filipino Franchisees Inc., Nice Day! Car Wash—owned and operated by Have a Nice Day Corp.—considered itself as the biggest car wash chain in the country with 11 branches, eight of which are company-owned.