Metro Rod enjoys 32% sales jump and continued success in 2021

In a recent interview with the Executive Chairman of the franchise’s parent company (Franchise Brands), Proactive dove into Metro Rod’s 2021 performance.

This fiscal quarter, Metro Rod has performed extremely strongly. System sales are up 32% year on year, and 52 new recruits have joined the drainage franchise’s B2C division. In an interview with Proactive, Executive Chairman Stephen Hemsley was happy to share more about Metro Rod’s 2021 efforts. He began by expressing that, “It really is a testament to our franchisees. They have worked incredibly hard.” He then put Metro Rod’s success down to three key things that franchisees have done:

1. They have driven local sales and connected more directly with customers – Local sales, which are generated from the local office rather than by the national accounts team, now make up “42% of the business”. This figure has “grown significantly over the last year or so, particularly over the lockdown period”, allowing franchisees to establish strong relationships with local customers and “respond very directly to their needs”.
2. They have significantly invested in their businesses – In Stephen’s words, “We have 50 more engineers in the system than we had this time last year, and that drives our capacity.” Plus, Metro Rod franchisees have “invested in tankers”. In April 2018, the network contained 24 tankers, but now has 55 – making it the owner of “one of the largest tanker fleets in the country”.
3. They’ve developed their relationship with Willow Pumps – Willow Pumps is a pump installation and maintenance company that also falls under the Franchise Brands umbrella, and has been working more extensively in partnership with Metro Rod during 2021, allowing the franchise “to complete the whole job without having to sub-contract the pump element”.

These efforts all allow Metro Rod to provide better and more complete customer service. This is also the goal that Stephen and the whole team are pursuing with increased investment in technology and digitisation. According to Stephen, digital transformation and improved technology will give customers access to “a lot of information” and shorten the communication chain significantly.

If you’re interested in investing with an undeniably successful drainage franchise and joining a thriving, well-parented network, Metro Rod is a strong option. You can become a franchisee for a minimum initial investment of £50,000. Find out even more about Metro Rod via its profile page, which you’ll discover linked above.