Franchisor of cleaning business Poppies, Chris Wooton, toasts 25 years as a territory owner in West Lancs
Chris Wootton, boss of domestic cleaning company Poppies, celebrated a personal milestone earlier this month, when his West Lancashire office reached 25 years in business. Chris, who took over as franchisor in 2018, remains the franchisee in West Lancs, which incorporates the Merseyside towns of Southport and Formby.
He launched his territory on April 1st, 1996, and has grown the business which now delivers over 2,500 hours of cleaning every month. Taking off his franchisor’s hat for the day, and replacing it with one which says ‘franchisee’, Chris remarked: “I’m thrilled to be celebrating my 25th year and sharing this milestone with staff who have worked with me for almost as long.
“It’s fair to say that if it wasn’t for my dedicated team of 42 cleaners, I wouldn’t be celebrating here today. I have to extend a big ‘thank you’ to everyone at Poppies for providing an exceptional service to all our customers in and around Ormskirk. Their response to the challenges of the last 12 months has been nothing short of incredible.”
Launched in 1980, Poppies was the UK’s first-ever cleaning franchise and today has 22 branches across the country, with an annual turnover exceeding £5m. It is largely concentrated north of Derbyshire, although territories do exist in Guildford, Exeter and Chichester.
Chris, the company’s managing director, took ownership of the brand in 2018, after Poppies‘ founder Sue Rorstad sadly passed away. Sue was a close friend of Chris and also his mentor. And Chris admits the past year has been challenging for everyone connected with the company, adding: “Like many other local businesses, we had to put in additional safety measures to keep our services going during the pandemic.
“Luckily, when you’re already in the business of cleaning, it’s not an enormous leap to deliver Covid-secure sanitation to our customers. But more than anything, we’re looking forward to the summer when we can hopefully have a good old get together to properly celebrate 25 years in business.”
One person who joined Chris at his Ormskirk office, to celebrate 25 years as territory owner, was West Lancashire MP Rosie Cooper. Rosie remarked: “Poppies is a great example of a local business that has shown how it can adapt, survive and thrive during these unprecedented times. Over the years, Chris has played a key role in boosting the local economy by creating employment opportunities for people. Congratulations to Poppies and here’s to the next 25 years.”
And Chris is keen to talk to anyone interested in joining the Poppies‘ franchising family: “If you’re thinking of being your own boss and running a busy, profitable management cleaning franchise, then I’d love to chat with you.
“I know this business inside and out, and my own franchise in West Lancashire remains the largest in the network. I’m able to share my knowledge and experience with franchisees – new and existing – to help them achieve their own personal goals.”
