Driven Brands held its inaugural Canadian joint conference this week, inviting its franchise partners from Carstar and Driven Glass as well as corporate staff and vendors to convene at Montreal’s Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth for the three-day event.
On Wednesday, Maurice Filion, president of Driven Glass Canada, and Sabrina Thring, COO of Carstar Canada, addressed the media to outline key initiatives as well as their plans for tackling current challenges.
Filion touched on a range of subjects impacting Driven Glass Canada, the umbrella brand for its UniglassPlus, VitroPlus, Docteur Pare-Brise, Go!Glass and Star Auto Glass banners. Here are four main takeaways from his media address:
- Driven Glass Canada has introduced a new style of calibration that allows technicians to perform calibration in a remote setting. On the broader topic of addressing growing demand for calibration, Filion said the company is prioritizing education and training. He also said the company is mindful of a few factors that are changing the calibration game, including “hints of self-calibrating vehicles.”
- The company has launched a new point-of-sale system that will make greater use of data analytics and provide an improved interface for staff and vendors. Online booking of appointments is another area of focus.
- Attracting workers and retaining them is “probably our biggest challenge,” Filion said. To address it, Driven Glass Canada has appointed seven members of its operations team to conduct training, and it’s also coordinating with local schools and job fairs on recruitment initiatives.
- Driven Brands Canada has no plans to integrate its glass and collision businesses. “I don’t believe we’ll get to that point where the services are under one brand,” Filion said, citing the different skill sets and types of technicians that are required for each business. He also noted that many of the UniglassPlus locations have a “retail front” and said it’s important to maintain a “retail-friendly atmosphere in terms of geographical locations.”
Driven Brands is headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., and operates more than 4,800 locations in 14 countries. The company has made multiple acquisitions in the U.S. auto glass sector over the past year and a half, and now markets its glass services here under the Auto Glass Now brand.
