Franchisees celebrate first year in bathroom retail business

Ripples showroom in Harpenden, run by Martin and Fiona McDonagh, has celebrated its first anniversary of trading as a bathroom franchise.

As part of its celebrations, the couple threw a party in store attended by customers, suppliers, friends and colleagues, where they thanked the support of Ripples, which operates 16 franchise showrooms in the UK.

Speaking at the event, Martin Mcdonagh described his pride of what had been achieved in the first year, quipping: “I probably shouldn’t say this but it couldn’t have been made easier for me.” However, he quickly pointed out that the success had also been because of “an awful lot of my own hard work and dedication to the business.”

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He continued stating: “It had always been my intention to start my own business. I have always wanted to be in charge of my own destiny – after all, you spend such a large proportion of your life working, why not enjoy yourself?”

The couple aim to open multiple Ripple showrooms, as Martin McDonagh stated: “I would have no reservations about buying the franchise again. The business is a proven model and if you follow it, there’s absolutely no reason why you can’t replicate the success of other franchisees.”

Ripples, which has celebrated its silver anniverary of trading, provides a training and launch programme to give new franchisees the confident to run and manage their own business. Training is carried out by the Ripples team and its supplied, and once trading a member of the support team visits the showroom weekly for two months to offer support. In addition, franchisees benefit from Ripples national advertising and PR campaigns.