Carnett’s Founders Hope To Clean Up With P&G Franchising Unit

Atlanta Journal Constitution:

Bruce Arnett Sr. and Bruce Arnett Jr. came to Atlanta from the Midwest in 1987 to build a car wash empire. Their beginnings were humble.

“When we started we were living in a camper at Lake Lanier,” laughs the son. “It was a large RV,” injects the dad. “And we moved into a home very quickly.”

So it wasn’t that humble. Still, the Arnetts’ story is impressive. From one outlet in Gwinnett County, they built Carnett’s Car Washes into a 16-store chain. Their success caught the eye of Procter & Gamble which bought them out recently, then put them in charge (as CEO and COO) of building its start-up national franchising unit, Mr. Clean Car Wash.

At Carnett’s, they created an operational system, from employee training to customer service, that could be replicated by franchisees. In a fragmented industry, that stood out to P&G.

The Arnetts felt some loss giving up the Carnett’s name but are excited about their role in building the first national car wash chain.