So far, they’ve kept it clean.
“I don’t consider this war,” said Carl Howard, the chief operating officer of Autobell Car Wash, explaining his company’s incursion into Atlanta where it is taking on consumer good’s giant Procter & Gamble’s chain of Mr. Clean Car Washes.
“I don’t build car washes to put others out of business. What I build car washes for is to increased my profit potential for the full service type business we have. There is more room for others.”
By Howard’s estimate, there are already about 500 places — not counting people’s driveways — to get a car, truck or SUV, scrubbed, waxed and vacuumed in metro Atlanta, an area with a population of 5 million, and “probably that many cars,” he said.
Still, the family-owned, second-generation, Charlotte-based Autobell, which has 56 car washes — making it one of the largest car wash chains in the country — is going up against a powerhouse in P&G and chasing the same customers: People willing to pay $13 or $14, twice a month, to have their cars, trucks and SUVs clean, quickly, and inside and out.
Autobell has three car washes in metro Atlanta so far, with plans to add another seven or eight, said Howard. P&G moved into Atlanta when it purchased the 13-store Atlanta chain of Carnett’s Car Washes’ in February and in July officially converted them to Mr. Clean.
P&G, which plans to franchise the Mr. Clean chain nationwide, so far has changed little about the Carnett’s formula, which like Autobell’s is a mixture of high-tech and high-touch, with humans toweling off, vacuuming and cleaning the interiors of vehicles that have been machine washed and waxed.
Bruce Arnett Sr. and Bruce Arnett Jr., who moved to Atlanta from the Midwest in 1987 to build a car wash empire, stayed on as CEO and COO, respectively, after selling to P&G, to maintain the continuity of management and the standards that first caught the eye of P&G, the Cincinnati-based consumer good’s company renowned for its market research.
“The only thing we really do different now is we spray the inside with Febreze” air freshener, a P&G product, said Brian Lancaster, who worked for Carnett’s eight years and now manages the Mr. Clean on Duluth Highway in Lawrenceville.
“We still have the same philosophy and slogan as Carnett’s,” he said. “Clean Cars Fast, Delivered With Fantastic Quality and Southern Hospitality.”
P&G spokesman Jeff LeRoy, declined to say how many stores the company plans to build in Atlanta, but he said P&G already sold franchises and plans to open at least three more locations here.
“We haven’t said publicly how many we’d like to [open] in [what] places,” he said in an e-mail. “Let’s just say we plan to make it as big as we can, nationally. Right now, Atlanta, the Ohio Valley, Texas, Colorado and Chicago are all growth targets for us.”
Howard said Autobell plans to build stores in parts of the city that are underserved by a full-service wash. It’s first three locations are in Suwanee, Acworth and Mableton.
“We’ve identified locations,” he said, declining to tip his hand more than that.
It may seem odd that two companies would choose Atlanta — a city better known lately for its water shortage and droughts than just about anything else — as prime territory to build businesses burning through tens of thousands of gallons of water a day.
And, 20 years ago, it would have been, said Eric Wulf, executive director of the International Carwash Association trade group, but now high-tech car washes such as Autobell and Mr. Clean sip, instead of guzzle, water.
“In the ’80s it was not uncommon for a car wash to use 100 gallons a car,” he said. “With modern recycling systems it getting down to 20 gallons a car.”
High-tech car washes also have systems to capture hydrocarbons washed off cars. “They’re even better for the environment than if you washed the car yourself and the runoff went down the drive way into a creek,” said Wulf.
The closest proximity yet of the rivals in metro Atlanta is in Gwinnett County, where there’s an Autobell on Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road about three miles from a Mr. Clean on Duluth Highway. It’s hard to predict when they’re equally convenient how customers will respond.
At the Mr. Clean wash on Duluth Highway last week, customer Lois Fabec, an auto broker, said he planned to stay loyal to Mr. Clean because he can get his cars cleaned and washed there, as well as the oil changed and the emissions checked. Autobell doesn’t offer those services.
“It’s just faster, and more convenient, and they do a lot better job cleaning the cars than another car wash I used to use,” he said. “And if you get an oil change here they give you a $14 credit toward a car wash — can’t beat that.”
Howard said his company prides itself in doing the best cleaning job in the business. “That’s our focus, all our hiring is geared toward that,” he said. “We don’t have other profit centers.” He said Autobell’s technology is such it only uses about 10 gallons of water to wash a car, the rest is recycled.
On the other side of town, Ernest Perry said he’s such a regular customer of the Autobell in Acworth he has two $39.95 a month “unlimited” memberships. That means he can have his 2008 Corvette and 2009 Escalade SUV washed as many times a month as the urge strikes.
And it often does, about twice a week, said the 35-year-old Internet advertising executive.
“I never have a spot on my vehicles,” he said. “If it rains, I’m going to be there the next day.”
About the Author
