Moving Into 2021: Moving Industry Outlook | College Hunks Hauling Junk & Moving
Moving Into 2021: Moving Industry Outlook | College Hunks Hauling Junk & Moving
Although COVID-19 has impacted the moving industry in 2020, the number of people who move to a different residence every year in the United States continues to be impressive. Consider that there will be plenty of pent-up demand for moving services from those who postponed moving in 2020 – largely due to the virus and its accompanying business and government shutdowns – and there is robust demand for moving services on the horizon for 2021.
About 31 million people moved their home in the US in 2019, which represents about 9.8% of the nation’s population, according to US Census data, which also shows that the average American moves 11.7 times in a lifetime. The average person who moves is part of a couple ages 18-34, with one or two children. So, it isn’t surprising that most people (60%) move their residences during the summer between May and August when school is out. Additionally, renters moving much more frequently than homeowners. According to moving.org, most moves (44%) are driven by individual/family considerations, followed by corporate moves (38%), military moves (16%), and those required by government agencies (2%).
There’s no doubt that many moves originally planned for summer 2020 were postponed as the nation experienced some of the heaviest COVID-19 business and government shutdowns during this time. Since the end of the Great Recession, the moving industry was growing at an annual rate of 3%. Even during the Great Recession – and now during COVID-19 – the $18 billion moving industry proved resilient for moving companies that have creative and successful business plans. For example, College HUNKS Hauling Junk & Moving was founded in 2005 to take advantage of the opportunities and synergy that combining moving and junk hauling services offer.
In 2019, College HUNKS hit the benchmark of $100 million in system-wide revenue, and today has 130 locations nationwide and in Canada. College HUNKS was also recently listed within the top 3% of all franchise opportunities in the country. As an award-winning franchisor today, it’s humbling to look back at our beginnings. We started as just a junk removal provider, but our founders, Nick Friedman and Omar Soliman, quickly leveraged the opportunity that arose from the fact that most customers who wanted junk removed also were moving. Adding full-service moving to College HUNKS Hauling Junk & Moving rapidly took the business to a new level as many customers now know us for our stress-free moving options.
During COVID-19, as a brand, we made just a few – but highly effective – tweaks to our business model to adjust to the industry’s new normal:
- Curbside junk removal
- Express curbside junk removal
- No contact quotes
- No contact payment for services
- Virtual move estimates
- Extra support for franchisees from home/virtual settings, including the services of HUNKS’ Sales Loyalty Center
- Training for new franchisees conducted virtually
The positive results derived from this strategy for HUNKS and our franchisees carried them through the worst of COVID-19 in ways that enabled profitability. Now, they are ready to serve the many customers coming their way as the pandemic lessens in intensity and home and office moves increase in the last quarter of 2020 and looking ahead to 2021. Additionally, during the COVID-19 pandemic, we were fortunate enough to continue to add new franchisees and work with potential franchisees who are concluding their financing arrangements and should be open in the coming months.
Contact College HUNKS for more information about how to become a part of our College HUNKS Hauling Junk & Moving success story as we move into 2021. We currently have a long list of available territories for purchase and our team is ready to help you get started.