FT’s Picks of the Week highlight notable C-suite moves, brand milestones, tech tidbits and other franchise news, sourced by the Franchise Times editorial team.
Veteran franchise executive Danessa Itaya is the new president for residential and commercial cleaning brand Maid Brigade. She will oversee all aspects of Maid Brigade's brand strategy, operational performance and franchise support as the company continues to look to expand its national footprint.
Danessa Itaya is Maid Brigade's new president.
Itaya was president of Bio-One, a Five Star Franchising brand with more than 135 locations nationwide, where she led initiatives in system modernization, CRM implementation and national account expansion. Prior to that, she was president of Property Management, guiding the company's growth from 233 to more than 380 franchises nationwide and internationally while driving consistent earnings and same-store sales growth. Earlier in her career, Itaya served as vice president of Maid Right under Premium Franchise Brands.
Maid Brigade, which Evive Brands acquired in June, has more than 350 franchise locations in the U.S. and Canada and is No. 380 on the Franchise Times Top 400 with $67.9 million in gross sales.
Noteworthy
After losing postpaid phone subscribers for three straight quarters, and as competition intensifies among the major wireless carriers for home internet and mobile service, Verizon plans to cut 15,000 employees over the next week and sell 200 stores to franchisees, according to sources cited by The Wall Street Journal. The telecommunications company led by new CEO Daniel Schulman pledged during its most recent earnings call to cut costs and reverse customer losses. Wireless Zone, the franchise retailer for Verizon, is No. 67 on the Top 400 with $1.2 billion in global sales and 745 units.
Technology
DoorDash and Coco Robotics are expanding their autonomous delivery partnership to Miami, building on earlier launches in Los Angeles and Chicago, Food On Demand reported. Coco will also begin handling select orders from DashMart, DoorDash’s delivery-only storefront stocked with groceries and everyday essentials. The companies started working together this year, completing more than 14,000 autonomous DashMart deliveries across early pilots in Los Angeles and Chicago. Coco Robotics has completed more than 500,000 zero-emission deliveries. Beyond DoorDash, it works with Uber Eats and restaurant chains like White Castle.
DoorDash, meanwhile, continues to deepen its autonomous portfolio. It also taps Serve Robotics for deliveries in Los Angeles, with more cities planned, and recently debuted DOT, its built-in-house delivery robot.
Milestones
Franchisee So Cal Gyms opened the 100th Planet Fitness location in Greater Los Angeles. So Cal Gyms operates 22 Planet Fitness gyms and over the last 10 years the brand has opened 78 clubs in California’s largest market. As of September 30, Planet Fitness had approximately 20.7 million members and 2,795 clubs in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Canada, Panama, Mexico, Australia and Spain. The company ranks No. 22 on the Top 400 with $4.8 billion in global sales.
Franchisee Four S opened Sola Salons’ 750th location in Greenville, South Carolina. Four S operates more than 55 Sola Salons in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. The group was founded by Haynes Chidsey and Peter Pak.
Just for Fun
"Home Alone" actor Macaulay Culkin stars in a new Home Instead advertising campaign.
In-home adult care brand Home Instead Senior Care got nostalgic for its newest advertising campaign, “Home but not alone,” by reuniting fans of the hit movie “Home Alone” and actor Macaulay Culkin.
In the advertising spot launched November 1, Culkin—who played Kevin McCallister in the 1990 film—tries to keep his mom safe at home but realizes he can’t do it alone. His well-intentioned “solution” was wrapping everything in sight in plastic, which is a nod to the playful spirit of the film, said director Jordy Hill. Old Man Marley’s granddaughter makes a surprise appearance, carrying his shovel and his lesson forward: Fear shouldn’t stop families from having the conversations that matter most, according to the company release.
Home Instead is No. 43 on the Top 400 with nearly 1,200 global locations and $2.5 billion in gross sales.