Krešimir Dobrilović (Carwiz International): Of the ten brands you come into contact with daily, seven to eight are franchises

Franchises have become an increasingly popular way of doing business both globally and in Croatia. This dynamic entrepreneurial model allows entrepreneurs to leverage proven successful business concepts and brands to achieve their ambitions, and it is becoming increasingly popular in the domestic market. For this reason, we decided to speak with Krešimir Dobrilović, the CEO and founder of Carwiz International, a global car rental franchise established in Zagreb.

Where did the idea for opening Carwiz come from?

– Carwiz was conceived as a classic Croatian brand. Initially, we did not intend to start as some kind of international franchise brand. However, this is my third startup, considering that I created today’s ORYX Rent a Car for the Zubak Group. When we were at our peak, I started another business venture with the then-owner of the TRCZ Group, Ivan Pehar, and Fleet Rent a Car was opened. We sold it to a Croatian fund in 2016, and after that, I founded Carwiz, for the first time without partners. We made a strong start in both the domestic and foreign markets, in the first year we had 750 cars, seven branches…

How did you secure capital for such a ‘strong’ business start?

– I must thank my business partners from the leasing-industry and car importers. Given that I have been in this business for 27 years, I received significant support from leasing companies and importers, who offered me cars that we rented out ‘on a handshake’. This is definitely not an everyday occurrence. Partners believed in me and supported me with a truly large number of vehicles already in the first year of business.

How did you manage to create a global brand?

– The Carwiz brand we created with the help of local designers was made according to all professional standards. We started on April 1, 2017, and when our web was launched, it was a showcase example that competitors in the industry often copied, and they still do. In Turkey and Greece, we had to address this with the help of lawyers because they completely copied us. Friends, business partners, and various associates initially thought I had brought a foreign franchise to the domestic market because they did not believe that Carwiz was a Croatian brand. After the fiftieth or hundredth such conversation, it occurred to me that we could really turn this into a global franchise.

Did you have prior experience in the franchise industry?

– Yes, I worked for 12 years for Budget Rent a Car. Initially, I did the most basic student jobs, eventually reaching the highest position I could have within the company at that time. I knew what a franchise was and what it entailed. For this reason, I set everything up by the book from the start. A major problem was that there was no domestic role model for a franchise rent a car, so we had to become that. At the end of 2017, I officially opened Carwiz International, which is also the company that holds the Carwiz brand, which is protected for the start in Croatia, in the region, in the EU, and in several other countries worldwide. Subsequently, it was protected in all markets where we currently operate. During 2018, we operationally began to piece the whole story together, and I am glad that from the beginning the whole story has been Croatian – from our knowledge and experience to the brand created by the Croatian company Singular from Zagreb to the IT solutions we use, developed by the company VIP Data, also from Zagreb. Carwiz International is a pure Croatian export product, or service, and within a year we had signed 20 franchises, which was incredible for 12 months.

And what does it look like today?

– Our booking is three to four times larger than last year. By investing in people, IT, and training that we conduct in all the countries where we are present, we have managed to elevate our business results on a global scale. I am almost certain that revenues this year will be 95 to 100 percent higher than last year’s, and profits ten times greater. I can also exclusively announce that by the end of the year we will have at least six new signed countries. Georgia, Austria, and Australia, as an exceptionally large and potent market, are nearing completion, as well as the Republic of South Africa, and what should be the icing on the cake, we are negotiating with a company from Abu Dhabi that could sign an exclusive contract with Carwiz for the entire Middle East. We will also cover the last uncovered continent – we should soon sign the first franchise agreement for Chile, specifically the capital Santiago. Currently, we are also present at three locations in Mexico, and with one local partner, we should soon sign a contract and cover all of Mexico, with 54 locations across the country. I constantly tell my colleagues that we will be a completely different company before the season next year, as all the countries I mentioned have a season much longer than our summer.

How do you comment on the growth and development of the franchise industry in Croatia?

– We see that in recent years, both before the pandemic and especially in the years after, the franchise industry is rapidly growing. This is not surprising given that global trends also favor franchises, indicating that operating within a franchise chain has multiple benefits and that such businesses and companies succeed more easily in these challenging times, have greater security to survive in the market, utilize proven business models, and develop more easily. Today, there are about 200 franchises in the Croatian market, of which the broader population is probably not even aware, both franchisors and franchisees. It is said that of the ten brands you come into contact with daily, seven to eight are franchises. And you are probably not even aware of that. Good examples of practice in our country are certainly Surf’n’Fries, the Museum of Illusions, and Escape Room.

The entire conversation about all the advantages and disadvantages of the franchise industry is available in the digital edition of the business weekly Lider.