Wireless Zone's Significant 2019 Growth Paves the Way for Further Success in 2020
In addition to breaking ground in the state of Tennessee, Wireless Zone® opened 12 new stores and transformed 38 independent Verizon agent locations into Wireless Zone® franchises as part of its 2019 growth.
ROCKY HILL, Conn., Feb. 12, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- After 30 years in business, Wireless Zone® has proven its staying power in the rapidly evolving technology space. The nation's largest wireless retail franchisor, which was first founded in 1988 as "The Car Phone Store," has adapted well to the changing technology market over the past three decades and evolved into a mega-brand with more than 400 locations across the United States. Wireless Zone, Verizon's largest franchise opportunity, continues to show significant growth in the rapidly evolving mobile and tech industry. The brand enjoyed an especially successful year of growth in 2019 and has put several processes in place to enjoy continued expansion in 2020.
Wireless Zone offers opportunities for existing independent wireless retail agents to convert their business into a Wireless Zone® franchise. In 2019, Wireless Zone® converted 20 such businesses into franchises, with two agent ownership teams transforming into franchisors. The company also added 18 locations through local franchisor acquisitions. Additionally, Wireless Zone® opened 12 brand new locations, including a major milestone of two new stores in the state of Tennessee.
"Wireless Zone is thrilled by the progress we made in 2019," said Executive Director of Development Keith Dziki. "Wireless Zone® has worked very hard across our entire franchise system to stay relevant over the past 30 years, and in doing so, we've shown it is possible to have longevity and sustained success in the space. Wireless Zone worked extremely hard across the entire franchise system in 2019, and we can't wait to expand our footprint in 2020."
In terms of charitable efforts, Wireless Zone continued to give back to the communities it serves through its philanthropic arm, the Wireless Zone Foundation for Giving, which donated a total of $670,000 in 2019. Of this amount, $203,000 went to the 203 local charities nominated by Wireless Zone franchise owners and/or corporate employees. The 203 charities represented a 60% increase over the number of charities nominated in 2018. Another $242,000 were allocated to 39 special project grant requests that came from those nominated charities. The remaining $225,000 went to the brand's national charity partners, including Autism Speaks, Best Friends Animal Rescue, Children's Tumor Foundation, Homes For Our Troops, Make-A-Wish, No Kid Hungry, Sandy Hook Promise and St. Jude Hospital and Research Center.
Individual franchisees also participated in many special projects and charitable efforts at the local level.
"Wireless Zone also did something new in 2019: We ran three in-store roundup campaigns and asked our customers to help support our national charities," said Brian Murtari, Wireless Zone's Chief Information Officer and Foundation for Giving President. "In total, these campaigns raised another $25,482.65. This includes $10,858.79 for Autism Speaks, $4,356.21 for Sandy Hook Promise and $10,267.65 for Make-A-Wish. We could not have done it without the support of the owners, managers and sales associates."
Wireless Zone recently received major industry recognition for this growth: The brand ranked No. 51 on the latest Franchise Gator Top 100 list, 24 spots up from last year's list, and jumped more than 100 places over last year's ranking on Entrepreneur Magazine's Top 500 Franchise List for 2020.
In terms of 2020 growth, Wireless Zone seeks to open at least 10 new stores. The brand also wants to acquire 20 existing agent locations and convert at least 35 existing agent locations to the Wireless Zone franchise model.
"Wireless Zone has a loyal customer base in over 400 local communities across the United States, but we are far from finished growing," Dziki said. "Wireless Zone provides strong corporate support for franchisees, a proven business model and the chance to be in the tech space. We welcome conversations with both new franchisees and existing business owners who want to represent the brand in their markets."
ABOUT WIRELESS ZONE:
Founded in 1988 as "The Car Phone Store," the Wireless Zone® system has become the nation's largest wireless retail franchisor and was ranked the No. 1 franchise in its category by Entrepreneur magazine. Each of the over 400 stores are independently owned and operated, exclusively offering Verizon Wireless products and services. The Wireless Zone® system has been honored with Verizon's "Best Customer Service" award for five consecutive years and is franchised and operated by Wireless Zone LLC. For more information, visit http://www.wirelesszone.com.
ABOUT THE WIRELESS ZONE FOUNDATION FOR GIVING:
The Wireless Zone Foundation for Giving was founded in 2003 after identifying a need and desire to give back to our communities. Today the Foundation raises a substantial amount of money to support a large number of local charities and causes in the communities in which we do business. We also have time-honored relationships with our national charities including Make-A-Wish, Autism Speaks, Children's Tumor Foundation and St. Jude's as well as No Kid Hungry, Best Friends Animal Rescue, Homes for our Troops and Sandy Hook Promise. To learn more, visit https://wirelesszone.com/foundation/.
SOURCE Wireless Zone
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