Domestic cleaning franchise reaches major milestone

West Lancashire franchisee Chris Wootton is celebrating 25 years of success with Poppies

Chris Wootton celebrated a major milestone on April 9, as his domestic cleaning franchise reached its 25-year anniversary.

Having launched on April 1, 1996, Poppies now delivers over 2,500 hours of cleaning every month to homes across West Lancashire. 

Rosie Cooper, MP for West Lancashire, joined Chris at the Poppies office in Ormskirk to mark the occasion, along with a few of Poppies’ staff, who have worked in the business for over 20 years. 

Chris, who’s also managing director and franchisor of the Poppies brand, says: “I’m thrilled to be celebrating my 25th year and sharing this milestone with staff, who have been working with me for almost as long.

“It’s fair to say that if it wasn’t for my dedicated team of 42 cleaners I wouldn’t be celebrating here today.

“I have to extend a big thank you to everyone at Poppies for providing an exceptional service to all our customers in and around Ormskirk - their response to the challenges of the last 12 months has been nothing short of incredible.” 

Like many other local businesses, Chris’ Poppies franchise had to put in additional safety measures to keep its services going during the pandemic.

“Luckily, when you’re already in the business of cleaning it’s not an enormous leap to deliver a COVID-secure sanitising experience for customers,” he adds.

“But more than anything, we’re looking forward to the summer when we can hopefully have a good-old get together to properly celebrate 25 years in business.”

Rosie Cooper MP says: “Poppies is a great example of a local business that has shown how it can adapt, survive and thrive during these unprecedented times.

“Over the years, Chris has played a key role in boosting the local economy by creating employment opportunities for people in the area and providing a service to the heart of our community.

“Congratulations to Poppies and I wish you every success for the next 25 years.”