More on ProColor's Move to the U.S.

Oct. 8, 2020
Last month, the parent company of Canada’s ProColor announced the collision repair brand is heading south and will be entering the United States market. FenderBender caught up with Steve Leal, president and CEO of parent company Fix Network World, to hear more details about the move.

Oct. 8, 2020—Last month, the parent company of Canada’s ProColor announced the collision repair brand is heading south and will be entering the United States market. FenderBender caught up with Steve Leal, president and CEO of parent company Fix Network World, to hear more details about the move.

Why is now the time for ProColor to enter the U.S. market?

Mondofix has been active in the U.S. since 1997 when the original founder of the Fix Auto brand, Jean Delisle, granted a license and franchise for the Fix Auto name and system in the USA to a California based company. That agreement is still in place.

We expanded our presence in the United States in 2017 when we acquired the global rights to NOVUS Glass, which is headquartered in Minnesota and has almost 600 franchisee-owned locations in the U.S. The launch of ProColor Collision now is part of our long-term strategy to grow our business worldwide in all areas of the automotive aftermarket, which includes the collision, glass, and mechanical repair segments.

What is the growth strategy for ProColor? Specifically the "aggressive strategies" mentioned in the press release?

Most brands when they launch into a new market will focus on starting small and building from there. Our experience has been the opposite. We’re interested in quickly establishing and scaling up our network of locally owned and operated ProColor Collision centers from coast to coast. This is why we decided to launch the ProColor brand initially in California, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, all of which have a large and growing number of independent collision repair centers that are interested in joining a consolidated network like ours.

Through our prior experience in the United States and globally, we know that economies of scale bring more advantages to independent body shops. It allows them to continue to run their business, create jobs in their community, and service their customers, while gaining the operational support and management tools they need to boost business performance. Plus, they can leverage our established relationships with suppliers, insurance partners, and fleet companies to drive more business through their door.

By how much does ProColor expect its revenue to grow in the United States?

It’s too early to talk about revenue projections. However, the size of the collision repair industry is huge compared to other parts of the world.

Do you expect ProColor's progress in Canada to be impacted by the expansion at all?

We are continuing to expand ProColor Collision across Canada. When we acquired the brand in 2019, there were more than 170 locations in the province of Quebec. In the last few months, we’ve launched five new locations outside of Quebec and expect to add another 14 in Alberta, Ontario and the Atlantic provinces by the end of the year. ProColor in the U.S. and in Canada will operate independently of each other, but as we do with our other brands, our teams will bring forward and share best practices and high standards of quality and safety from around the world.

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