Competitive Analysis - Car Wash Industry Essay -- Business Analysis

Introduction The task of this assignment is to complete a competitive analysis of two of the largest competitors in the industry of chosen study. This researcher’s chosen field is the Car Wash industry. Unlike many industries, the Car Wash industry does not have dominant players or franchise names that rule across the country. Unlike other automobile related industries such as oil change (Rapid Oil Change), tires and batteries (Goodyear), and auto parts retailers (NAPA), where these types of name players may have thousands of locations throughout the country, there are no big name players in the Car Wash industry. Although there are companies that own and operate multiple car wash facilities, most of these multi-location owners operate multiple locations throughout a metropolitan or regional area and their overall location totals are nominal. Since there is a lack of dominant competitors to analyze, this researcher will focus on an analysis between the two main categories of car wash ownership: full service vs. unattended operations. Industry Overview and Description The Car Wash industry began to start and grow across the U.S. after the conclusion of World War II. America’s economic rebirth and prosperity created a boom in the housing and automobile industry. What began as a business to satisfy Americans’ love of the automobile has grown over the past several decades into an international industry. From washing one’s car in the driveway with a water hose and bucket of soapy water, to the do-it-yourself, unattended coin operated high-pressure wand locations, to today’s professional car washing businesses which feature complex automatic equipment and technological systems to wash cars more safely and effectively than ... ...ion wash bays are a huge competitive risk as these gas retailers usually offer discounted car washes with the purchase of gasoline. For the full-service wash model, they too have to be in tune with cheaper and less service options as in challenging economies, their services become more difficult to justify for the consumer who is worried about income. Competitive rivalry, threat of substitution, and threat of new entry are the forces that the full-service model is at most risk with. Poor service reputation and lack of a strong value proposition puts this car wash model at serious risk of substitution. The treat of new entry for both business models can be significant as there are many new innovations in car wash businesses such as mobile wash stations and new and used car dealerships that are adding this business in what has been a very difficult car economy.