Benedikt Hjalmarsson, CEO, BG Cleaning Systems Int'l

Iceland-based BG Cleaning Systems with two decades of professional cleaning industry experience is set to grow in India’s burgeoning market. In an interview, Benedikt Hjálmarsson, CEO, BG Cleaning Systems Int'l, shares expansion plans of the brand.

Namita Bhagat (NB): Brief us on the concept of BG Cleaning. When did you begin franchising? 

Benedikt Hjálmarsson (BH): BG Cleaning Systems is the cleaning franchise from the cleanest country on earth - Iceland. This means that we will be teaching our franchise partners how to provide and maintain the high cleaning standards that BG Cleaning Systems is providing to its clientele. BG introduced this franchise first to the world in 2010 and we already have Master Franchisees in Nigeria and Philippines and are expecting more BG franchisees to be up and running in several countries in the Middle East by the end of this year or beginning of next year. We have also launched the franchise in UK, and expect franchisees to be set up and to start their operations by February 2012. 

NB: What kind of business opportunity it is for the interested Indian franchisees? 

BH: BG Cleaning Systems is a brand that is well-known for its high standards and reliability. It is a strong brand with almost two decades of professional experience in the cleaning industry behind it. India is a burgeoning market and we saw that there is a demand for professional and high quality cleaning services in India. Entrepreneurs, not only from India, have been very interested in the country’s cleaning industry. However, they do not possess the technical know-how and experience that we are rich in.

NB: How suitable is the concept of the brand for Indian franchisees?

BH: We believe our model is very suitable for the Indian market. There is an existing need for professional cleaning services with higher standards. We fully launched this opportunity during the Delhi Franchise Show in July this year and since then we have been introducing this unique concept in various places in India, i.e. Goa and Mumbai. Currently, we are successfully recruiting state master franchisees for various states in India.

NB: Did you customise the concept for India? What are the challenges for the brand in this market?

BH:  Definitely! Our model for India was totally customised .  I visited India myself in 2010 and observed and studied how the cleaning industry is. We have a different business model for India which was tailored to the culture, the demographics, and the country as a whole. We anticipate some issues with local labour, working with them will be a challenge. Traditional mindset in terms of exposure to world class professional cleaning services is a challenge that we will overcome by proper education in order to bring about awareness and understanding of the professional cleaning business.

NB: What is the franchise model for the brand in India? 

BH: We operate strictly through the state master franchisee who in turn will work with their independent unit franchise operators out of each state/city/town in India.  

NB: What is the capital and area requirement from the franchisee’s end?

BH: We expect the Master Franchisee to bring in Rs 25 lakh of investment along with the desired bandwidth to be able to operate with more than a hundred unit franchisees in their individual states. Each unit franchisee will have to bring in an investment of Rs15 lakh. All the franchisees will have to have a small office, a van, a bike, and other necessary equipment to operate in their exclusive unit franchise zone.

NB: What are your expansion plans in India in the coming years?

BH: We expect to be in all major states in India by the end of next year. We will work across Tier-I, II, and III cities of India. 

NB: Could you share franchise facts for the brand?

BH: The franchise facts for BG Cleaning are: the estimated break even period for all franchisees in three years. The business opportunity is a service franchise business and can be operated from commercial premises. With proper commitment from the franchisees, they should expect at the least a 30 per cent return of their investment.