The home organization industry is worth well over $10 billion, and entrepreneurs interested in helping people with “clutter control” have a great shortlist of franchises to examine more closely with these top 5 organization/storage system franchises of 2019.
Accumulation happens, as they say, and many consumers are looking for ways to better organize their stuff at home. As the post-recession economic recovery continues, people are more willing than ever to invest in making their homes more organized, and this trend applies to both owners and renters.
Whether it’s in the bedroom, kitchen, living room, or garage, people want attractive yet highly functional ways to organize their belongings. For many, clutter contributes a significant stress factor to home life, and an increasing number of consumers now have the disposable income to do something about it.
One survey in 2018 revealed how two-thirds of adults in the U.S. said they could use more home organization products. And people are buying them, too, spending close to $20 billion on baskets, totes, bins, shelving, hanging storage, modular units, and related accessories.
Three out of five of the companies on this list have achieved rankings on Entrepreneur magazine’s Franchise 500 list. Here are the 5 best organization/storage system franchises of 2019:
1. Tailored Living
Tailored Living started out as Closet Tailors under the Home Franchise Concepts (HFC) umbrella of companies that includes other home-related franchise brands such as Budget Blinds, Concrete Craft, and AdvantaClean. It was combined with the PremierGarage brand and relaunched as Tailored Living to offer homeowners organization and storage solutions for every room in their home.
The process begins with a free in-home consultation with the goal of providing complete design, measuring, and installation services adapted to each client’s specific needs, whether it’s a home or a business.
Tailored Living has enjoyed extensive media coverage, which has helped it become the largest whole-home organization franchise in the U.S. It is also expanding internationally.
It believes strongly in thorough training and will pay up to $500 for economy class airfare to bring new franchisees to company headquarters, as well as pay for up to 15 nights in a standard hotel room in order to attend its 11-day comprehensive training program. Training includes the company’s proprietary D’Vinci software for helping customers envision their storage solutions during in-home consultations.
Headquartered in Orange County, California, this company is currently ranked #434 on Entrepreneur magazine’s Franchise 500 list. Founded in 2006 and franchising since then, the number of locations has reached an impressive total of 193, none of which are company-owned and 29 of which are located outside the U.S.
2. ShelfGenie
ShelfGenie specializes in designing and installing custom pull-out shelves for kitchen cabinets, pantries, bathrooms, and garages. Based on exact measurements taken on-site, the company’s Glide-Out shelves are custom-made by hand.
A free in-home design consultation kicks off the process where the designer takes the time to get to know the customer’s unique needs and then produces a no-obligation design solution on the spot. If the customer wants to proceed, then the pull-out shelving is handcrafted in the USA (at a plant in Alabama) and installed with a lifetime guarantee.
The company’s Business Support Center handles many of the administrative aspects of the franchise, including appointment scheduling, client reminders, fielding calls from potential clients, following up on leads the franchisee collects when out in the field, handling client service calls, and tracking client satisfaction. Franchisees start out by doing the design and installation themselves, but can outsource that work to contractors as the location scales up.
Initial training for new franchisees takes eight days at the company’s corporate offices in Atlanta, Georgia. When the franchisee grows a team, new designers can be trained online while new installers receive three days of intensive training.
Founded in 2000 and franchising since 2008, the number of locations has declined slightly in the past couple years from 178 in 2016 to the current total of 158, of which 34 are company-owned and seven are located outside the U.S.
3. GarageExperts
GarageExperts is a company that understands how much more satisfying life can be when the often-neglected garage is made more attractive and functional. One of the company’s main services is epoxy floor coatings. Its Garage FX Epoxy Flooring system comes in more than 140 different styles and colors to achieve the right look for each customer.
The garage’s concrete floor is first coated with an epoxy primer that fuses with the concrete, then it is sprinkled with the chosen decorative flakes, and lastly finished with a durable polyaspartic topcoat that’s easy to clean, and comes with a lifetime warranty.
Customers can also tackle all their garage organizing needs with the company’s custom cabinetry service and/or slatwall service. It can design any combination of pantry, base, and overhead cabinets with adjustable shelving and full-extension drawers to maximize storage space and efficiency. A wide range of colors are available to suit each customer’s desired style.
Its custom-designed slatwalls (available in nine colors) allow for the organization and display of all sorts of things through the use of various hooks, baskets, and other accessories that easily attach to the slatwall’s reinforced T-channels.
Founded in 2008 and franchising since then, the number of locations has grown steadily to the current total of 90, none of which are company-owned and all of which are located in the U.S.
4. Closet Factory
Closet Factory was started by John LaBarbera in Los Angeles back in the early 1980s. It customizes closets, garages, and pantries with storage solutions to maximize the efficient use of space. Each system is viewed as a collaborative effort between the customer and the designer to come up with solutions that fit the needs and style of the space and the user. The ultimate goal is to turn a home or office into “…a sanctuary with a place for everything and where everything is in its place.”
Customers can schedule a free consultation to explore attractive storage solutions for closets, entertainment centers, pantries, home offices, kid spaces, craft rooms, garages, laundry rooms, mudrooms, wall units, home libraries, and wall beds. The company’s vast selection of materials, finishes, enhancements, and accessories results in truly unique solutions for better home storage. The company also backs up its work with a transferable, lifetime warranty against defects in quality and materials.
New franchisees receive six weeks of training, two of which take place in Los Angeles and the other four weeks at the franchisee’s location.
This company is currently ranked #329 on Entrepreneur magazine’s Franchise 500 list. Founded in 1983 and franchising since 1985, the number of locations has not changed a lot in recent years and currently totals 79, of which 13 are company-owned and all are located in the U.S.
5. Closets By Design
Closets By Design offers a wide range of home storage and organizing systems including walk-in closets, home offices, laundry rooms, wallbeds, garage cabinets, reach-in closets, media centers, pantries, and hobby rooms.
As with other companies, the process begins with a free on-site design consultation to envision solutions using a huge selection of features and finishes. Systems are then custom-built and professionally installed.
New franchisee onboarding includes two weeks of training in California and another two weeks of training at the franchisee’s location.
This company is currently ranked #431 on Entrepreneur magazine’s Franchise 500 list. Founded in 1982 and franchising since 1998, the number of locations has expanded in recent years to the current total 57, of which three are company-owned and 10 are located outside the U.S. (in Canada).
An Important Note About Our Methodology
The franchises on this list were ranked according to the number of units in the franchise system. If you are a prospective franchisee searching for franchise opportunities that meet or exceed certain performance benchmarks for sales, profits, and return on investment, please check out this list of America’s Most Lucrative Franchises.
Leave a Reply