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Tuesday, May 24, 2016
Color Glo - 2015 Year in Review
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What a great year this has been. Not just domestically but our International partners have been growing their respective markets and building the Color Glo brand into a globally recognized service as well. This year we had the opportunity to visit with many of our overseas partners in person and we also had the chance to meet some International Partners here in Minneapolis.
What a great time we had in visiting so many of our partners. We thought it would be great to close up the year with a recap of those partners that we have already written of, as well as recap the visits of several that we met with towards the end of the year.
Before we go into actual trips we would, as a company, like to take this opportunity to thank each and every person that is associated with our business. It is through your vision and passion in building your markets that has enabled Color Glo to now proudly offer our services in 50 countries worldwide. We are proud to be a part of the lives of over 1,300 individuals and independent operators across the globe. We never would have imagined that Color Glo would be found in markets from Japan to South Africa; Australia to India and all across SE Asia. We are proudly servicing markets across Europe and have operations across Eastern Europe and in Russia. We are currently working with new people that will come on board from the Philippines and Mongolia as well as several other markets which you will be hearing about as the year progresses.
In January we had the opportunity to visit Germany for a few days and spend time with their growing Color Glo team in Rostock at their 1st annual national seminar for their Color Glo people. Not only was it great to see the solid growth that is happening in Germany but it was also fun to spend time with Irena and Danilo and visit with them, not only at their seminar but also at their new offices in Rostock. In spending time with their Color Glo people during the seminar, it was fun to learn that they are out in the field every day building their business and promoting our brand. We had the opportunity to speak to each of them and were thrilled to hear the numerous stories of work that was being done and the many satisfied customers they were servicing. There was also an opportunity to watch Danilo as he spent time with technical issues and discussing some of the new products that have become available to all within the Color Glo Global team. We enjoyed a great lunch and everyone shared tricks and tidbits that make their business grow. We would like to thank Irena and Danilo for their incredible hospitality while we were there. They are celebrating their 13th year in Color Glo and this is going to be the best year yet. They continue to grow and promote the Color Glo brand in Germany and their positive and proactive attitude is evident in everything that they do. We look forward to their next seminar as we know it will be even bigger and better!
In February it was time to visit one of our newer markets, India! This is a market that with a population of 1.2 billion people holds a great opportunity, however, as you can imagine will take time to fully bloom. We had the opportunity to spend time in Bangalore which is the market that Rajan and his wife Lynn recently moved their home to. You may recall Rajan as being from Australia; however, he is originally from South Africa. He has moved his operations to India after leaving the Australian market in the capable hands of his son, Trevin, to develop. Getting around in India is a challenge in itself. It seemed that every single one of those 1.2 billion people were on the roads when were there. Interestingly Uber is big there so we were able to get around slowly but fairly easily. Just a few weeks before we headed to India, Rajan and Trevin visited us in Minneapolis to pick up some refresher techniques and bring us up to date with the current status of Color Glo in India. Presently there is a location that is fully operational and turning out excellent work in Cochin (Kerala). This location has been in operation for over a year and is actually owned and operated by an individual who originally came to Color Glo from one of our operations in the Middle East. Interestingly, Color Glo Australia has an operation that is a transplant from Germany. He was trained by Danilo and was looking for a change, and ended up in Australia. Is anyone seeing a “Global” pattern here? We are, with the help of each and every one of our Color Glo partners, in a Global community. This is not lost on us here in Minneapolis and we appreciate all that each one of our partners brings to the table. But we digress, Rajan has assembled a very capable team of professionals to grow the Color Glo business and more importantly, build brand recognition.
There is already a solid and positive footprint for Color Glo in India. In fact, we had the chance to visit personally with Lamborghini and numerous other potential clients including hotels and restaurants all needing the Color Glo touch. While there, we were able to spend time observing work being performed in one of the area’s premier health clubs on the exercise equipment. The market for Color Glo is, as we all know, only limited by imagination and time. We would like to thank Rajan and his wife Lynn for their hospitality while we were there and also to their daughter Teneal. Thank you to Trevin for spending time with us in Minneapolis. It was a fast trip, but an exciting one and we look forward to the many possibilities that the future holds.
Adding to February’s exciting trip to India, here at home we welcomed Morgan Bigelow to the CGI family as a new domestic franchisee! Morgan purchased Rodney Smith’s area in Shasta County, CA, as Rodney decided after 6 great years with CGI to pursue other business adventures!
March came fast and it was time we headed to the other side of the Globe to spend time with our incredible partners in South Africa. We doubt that there is anyone that has not in some way benefitted from the expertise and experience that our hosts for this visit bring to the table. Ruben Moodley and his wife Rachael have been in Color Glo going on 13 years and each of those years has been marked with growth of their local business. Ruben has made numerous contributions here in Minneapolis and has always been willing to offer help to any and all in the growing Color Glo family, whether it be domestically or somewhere overseas. Ruben brings a new dimension to the business in that he not only runs a very successful local operation with locations that cover much of South Africa but also Sub Sahara Africa. He has been kind enough to give us an overview of the recent seminar he put on which we were able to attend. As Ruben noted, the program was kicked off by Willem who has been a franchisee of Color Glo SA for 10 years. We have had the opportunity to spend time with Willem and he brings an exciting and positive outlook to his business. He is not only a franchisee with his own business but also does training and support for Ruben. Willem was extremely busy while we were there and it was not just with the seminar but he was in the process of cleaning and dyeing all of the seats from the inside of an Airbus 320. The work was done at the Johannesburg International Airport in one of the aircraft hangars and the client was over the moon happy with the results. In fact, as a result of his working at the airport he was able to land several other aircraft clients that needed the Color Glo touch. Interestingly his work at the Johannesburg airport was not only aviation work being done. At the same time there was work being done in Namibia at their airport on a local private jet. There were over 100 seats done in Johannesburg and as a result, Willem experienced is BEST EVER NEVER! We are sure there will be more to come. Thanks Willem for your great opening at the seminar and for all that you bring to Color Glo.
There were many highlights of the Color Glo SA seminar and we were thrilled to see the great attendance and responsiveness of the group. It was great to see the networking and how the “elder Color Gloers” in the group were so helpful to the “newbie Color Gloers.” Seeing the willingness to help each other out reminded us of our Domestic partners that are always there for each other. This year’s seminar in SA, unlike past years, didn’t focus on the technical aspect of Color Glo, rather it was a time to focus on business building and branding. As most of you know, Ruben has been appointed by CGI International, Inc. as a Certified Color Glo Trainer and does training in the International markets. He has a passion for teaching as well as the Color Glo business which is why he has had such great success within a country that people refer to as a “Third World Country.” In addition to his training, Ruben has also been a valuable part of the support which is provided to the International market and represents the very core values of us here at the home office. We want to thank him for the passion he brings to Color Glo and all of the support he offers his fellow Color Gloers. While attending the Color Glo SA seminar, we were able to attend the first ever CGI Boutique meeting. CGI Boutique, as you may have heard, is that part of CGI that deals specifically with a targeted market of high-end purses, shoes, jackets, and the like. Ruben has taken this side of the business to a new level in South Africa and currently has outlets for this part in nearly 60 locations country wide. This concept is primarily for the International market.
However, we would love to share the vision with our domestic partners as well. After leaving Johannesburg, we arrived in Durban and were able to spend time at the newly built headquarters of Color Glo SA, from which Ruben along with his team of dedicated and experienced staff directs the operations of his growing business. It is here that Ruben and his wife Rachael keep their hands on all that is happening within South Africa and Sub Sahara Africa. This location will also serve as their training headquarters. In fact, the day we left they had just started a training session for Femi who will be handling business in Nigeria. We want to thank the entire team in South Africa for all their help and vision they bring to Color Glo and a special thanks to Ruben and Rachael Moodley for their time and hospitality which is greatly appreciated.
In April we headed to Sweden where we spent time with Baker, Richard, Ahmed, and the incredible team that they have assembled there. It was a long overdue trip but one that was not only exciting but also incredibly informative. The work that is being done in Sweden is absolutely fantastic. While there we had the opportunity to visit not only their home office but also were able to visit and meet several of their franchisees. What an awesome, positive, and active group of people! During our visit we also had the opportunity to discuss the future plans of expansion not only within Sweden but spreading the Color Glo brand into adjacent Scandinavian market where there has already been a great deal of interest generated!
It is always a great time when visiting our overseas partners and better understanding their business. It gives us the opportunity to observe firsthand the incredible results our products provide in these different countries and also allows us to better understand the different challenges and opportunities that exist that are different from our own. This information enables us to better formulate and deliver products that continue to be cutting edge. As with every visit overseas it is not just working part of the trip that is enjoyable but also the opportunity to socialize and spend time with everyone in a casual setting and this trip did not disappoint as the Swedish hospitality was incredible. We also had the opportunity to spend time in Richard’s home where he had been busy putting together a new nursery for the upcoming birth just a few short weeks later of his beautiful daughter, Eliza. We are looking forward to many new and exciting developments coming from our Scandinavian partners and thank them for their being a part of our growing Color Glo Global family. We would also like to thank them for their wonderful hospitality during our visit.
There was even more to celebrate within the month of April! Ryan Freeborn, a franchisee located in Oregon, achieved his BEST EVER NEVER! He has been with the company for 10 years and he still continues to GROW and GLO! Way to go, Ryan!
The next trip brought us back to Italy. We say “back” as in this was not our first visit there, although it had been a while since we had the opportunity to spend time with the growing dynamic Italian group. This trip was special in that it gave us the opportunity to get our first up close look at their new offices and they are great. It is evident that a great deal of planning went into this facility. With offices and a reception area on the upper level and a large area for providing Color Glo on the lower level, they are well positioned for their next 10 years with Color Glo. Hard to believe it has already been 10 years working with the Lo Russo brothers, Ernesto, who is stateside, Roberto, and Fabrizio. Not to waste any time in breaking in the new offices Color Glo Italia had a welcoming them to the family!
After taking several weeks away from traveling in October we were once again out of the country, this time in Thailand where we had the opportunity to spend time with Tor and his wife Kae and see for ourselves the incredible business that they are building for themselves across Thailand. In a little more than 2 years they have grown their business to over 60 operations and as Tor says that is just the beginning. In addition, Tor and Kae have taken the new CGI Boutique concept and have developed a unique business model with it called Leather Solute. It is in these locations that they take in and service personal, high-end articles like Coach, Louis Vuitton, and the like. They have successfully opened in several of the largest shopping malls in Bangkok stores and kiosks that are used as an area that allow the shopper a comfortable location where they can not only drop off the item that they need repaired, but also these locations are resellers of bags, etc that have been dropped off and repaired to be sold in stores on a consignment basis. What a great money maker this has become for them. For those of you that know Tor, you are already aware that he really knows how to promote himself and by association, his business. You will find Tor and his wife on a daily basis attending business shows, posing for magazines, and having articles written about them and their business. We commend him for all he has done and know that this is just the beginning.
A few weeks later we had the opportunity to again head west and meet up with John in Korea. What a great business John has built! In addition to our being there to spend time visiting him and his business we also wanted to congratulate him on starting his 11th year with Color Glo. John today has placed operations across South Korea with the majority of them being in Seoul and surrounding markets. We were able to visit a number of the different locations and see all the great work that was being performed by John and his extended Color Si Dae team. At the top of the list of highlights to the trip, we had the opportunity to have dinner with John and his dad and his wife, whom we had not had the pleasure of meeting before. She is a warm and charming individual, and we are so happy for John. As we were wrapping up the trip, John told us that for him the best was yet to come; a statement that we couldn’t agree with more. The best is yet to come!
Here at CGI International, Inc we were pleased to welcome yet another franchisee to the business in the month of November. Warmest of welcomes to Carlos Smith! He has been working closely with George Elfering in Columbus, SC. Best of luck in your Gloing adventures, Carlos!
In addition to the wonderful, new franchisees brought on board with us in the year 2015, we also welcomed a new member to our corporate office staff. Michelle Jeansonne has joined our team as administrative support and continues to help the flow of our successful business!
This is a new year; a clean slate upon which we are given the opportunity to write our own future. As a company we believe we offer the finest products and techniques in this industry but the true value of this business is every one of you. Each of you brings to the Color Glo family table a unique and invaluable insight into what makes this such an exciting and ever-changing business. From working on only used cars many, many years ago you will now find Color Glo restoring multimillion dollar aircrafts and a fleet of Rolls Royce’s of a king. From a simple kitchen chair, we have evolved into restoring the finest furnishings in homes and businesses. And that first work done on a simple fishing boat is now work done on the mega yachts of the world as well as cruise ships in port. Today you will even find our products used on the vinyl windows and siding of homes. There really is no limitation to your market except your own imagination!!!
So together, let’s imagine that 2016 will be the very best year we can have and then let’s make that imagination a reality.
