Nanotek Car Cleaning has launched its flagship fixed site for Greece in AthensÕ premier luxury mall, the Golden Hall. The shopping mall site concept was conceived at the time of the launch of the Nanotek brand, but it has taken more than two years of planning and development to make it a reality.

“This facility is the new template for our fixed site operations in Europe,” said Michael Curry, general manager, Nanotek Middle Eastern Europe and formerly the general manager for Lamborghini, Bentley, Bugatti and Ducati in Saudi Arabia.

“The operation is centred around our core Nanotek car cleaning and detailing services, which are perfectly suited to the requirements and expectations of Golden HallÕs clientele.”

The prestige shopping mall houses 131 stores across 41,000 sq m. Jim Cornish, Nanotek CEO, told Franchising “This clientele is the niche we want to be in. We want to get with the influencers, this is as much about brand awareness as an operations strategy. We’ll be getting brand exposure to people who can grow our business outside Golden Hall.”

Despite the dire economic situation in Greece, Cornish is confident the premium position of the Nanotek brand will see it prosper. “There are still going to be higher end spends,” he said.

Expansion

The Golden Hall site follows on from the launch of NanotekÕs flagship fixed site operation in the Middle East last November.

Since launching in Europe in 2007, Nanotek has expanded to include operations in France, Greece, Romania and Russia and has further plans to expand both its mobile and fixed site operations.

Cornish said “Europe is a fantastic market for Nanotek. It is technology focused, the car culture is very strong, and space is at a premium — a perfect combination for the benefits of the Nanotek service. This is now the blueprint for our fixed site shopping centre operations in all markets and the experience we gain here can be shared with our franchisees around the world.”

However the concept of detailing car operations, both mobile and fixed, is not yet as strong across Europe as it is in Australia, which saw the original Ecowash service re-launched as Nanotek two years ago.

“I think what the rebrand did is put in people’s minds what the service stand for. Nanotek talks technology, the colour says premium. And it’s put our pricing into context, we’re about one third off an equivalent detail service,” said Cornish.