July 15, 2010
Ex-farmer turned entrepreneur John Connelly is relishing his new career as owner and operator of home rental appliance franchise Mr Rental, opening his second store in less than two years.
Mr Connelly who has established the second store in Hornby, owned a farm in North Canterbury (Omihi) for over five years and said he was loving the complete lifestyle change and freedom that came with owning his own business.
“I did love so many elements of farming life but owning my own stores has allowed me to have more of a balance at home, in my life and have more time to do the things I love,” he said.
Mr Connelly opened his first Mr Rental store in Christchurch in April 2009 and has experienced strong growth.
“In the 15 months I have been in business the performance of the store has increased by approximately 40 percent bringing the total amount of appliances out on rental to 1400 on hire. This rapid success has allowed me to expand and open another store sooner.”
Mr Connelly isn’t new to running a business. He used to operate a building and development company (North West Housing Developments) and was a former café owner of the Coffee House in Christchurch).
“I have always loved the challenge and freedom of being a business owner – I haven’t worked for anyone else since I was 20,” he said.
He believes the Mr Rental business offers solid return on investment.
“The best thing about owning a Mr Rental franchise is the fact there are recurring revenue streams and the hours are a lot more regular than other businesses. I spend a lot of time working on the business rather than in the business."
Mr Rental is an Australian and New Zealand home appliance chain which is rapidly growing in popularity. Mr Rental now has six stores in the South Island with 21 in New Zealand. Mr Rental was recently voted fifth in the top ten overall franchise list as voted by franchisees and came first in the ‘Intention to Renew’ category.
Although Mr Rental has been around since 1991 it is still a relatively new concept to New Zealand with the first store opening in Papanui in January 2002.
Mr Rental provides an extensive range of low cost lifestyle solutions to customers with options available to rent a wide range of products including white goods, furniture, office & fitness equipment plus TV's and Gaming Consoles.
Mr Connelly said he was confident the Mr Rental concept would be popular in Hornby as they also offered free pick up and delivery.
“It’s easy to get yourself into debt buying things you can’t really afford so having the option to rent is a safer alternative,” he said.
“The beauty of the Mr Rental concept is you can have the latest technology in products without having to pay the high purchase fee and you rarely have to pay for repairs. Customers also have the option of upgrading their rentals at any time.”
The Mr Rental franchise currently has a total of 73 stores in Australia and New Zealand.
The Mr Rental Hornby store will open on June 28 and is located at 21 Shands Rd, Hornby.
For further information, contact:Ignite PR& Marketing on 0011 617 3368 1650 or Claire@ignitepr.com.au
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