RepairClinic.com says it helps 30,000 people fix appliances monthly
Dean Selle didn’t fret when his fridge went on the fritz a few weeks ago.
He rolled up his sleeves, got on his computer and logged on to RepairClinic.com.
“I found the site using a search engine a couple of years ago,” said the 48-year-old autoworker from Northville. “Since then I’ve used it to fix a range, a dishwasher and my refrigerator.”
The Web site, owned and operated by Canton-based RepairClinic.com Inc., sells parts for household appliances and offers free help with fixing the machines.
Unlike the legions of Internet start-ups that have died out because of money troubles or bad business models, RepairClinic survived the dot-com crash and has managed to grow its business and expand.
“Our biggest challenge over the past year and for the foreseeable future is growth,” said Chris Hall, RepairClinic’s president. “It’s a really wonderful problem to have.”
RepairClinic is Hall’s brainchild. While running an appliance repair business in Ann Arbor during the 1980s and 1990s, he frequently ran into customers who wanted to fix their broken washers, dryers and stoves themselves but were too afraid to or didn’t know where to start.
After the explosion of the Internet and electronic commerce, Hall got the idea to create a Web site that provided expert repair advice and sold parts online. He later teamed up with Larry Beach, RepairClinic.com’s CEO and a software industry veteran, to launch the dot-com in 1999. Not long after, the hype surrounding Internet companies evaporated and thousands of them went out of business.
RepairClinic, however, continues following its business strategy. First, it lures customers to its site by offering help in diagnosing appliance problems, with step-by-step repair instructions — complete with detailed illustrations — and maintenance tips.
Then, it sells competitively priced appliance parts. For example, RepairClinic offers a package of two 5-foot polymer hoses for washing machines for $36.40, plus shipping and handling. Sears.com, the retail giant’s Web site, sells the same package for $39.98, plus shipping and handling.
It’s a strategy that appears to have connected with do-it-yourselfers and consumers looking to save money by fixing old machines instead of buying new ones. RepairClinic boasts that it helps more than 30,000 people fix their appliances every month. It also has grown from about 20 employees three years ago to its current staff of 90.
The privately held company won’t disclose it annual sales, but Hall said it has been profitable for more than a year.
That has prompted the company to build new headquarters next door to its existing offices and a 25,000-square-foot warehouse in Canton. It expects construction to start within a few weeks and hopes to move into the new, 60,000-square-foot building next summer.
RepairClinic.com’s new home will also enable the company to do something it hasn’t been able to do before — offer a parts walk-up service counter, Hall said.