Crowies Paints

What Crowies Paints does

Crowies Paints is a privately held Australian paint retail franchise founded in 1996 by Managing Director Daphne Crowhurst, headquartered in Malvern, South Australia. The company operates 28 retail stores across four Australian states — South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland — selling interior and exterior paints, specialty coatings, painting accessories, and wallpaper, alongside complementary services including free in-store colour consultation and at-home consultancy in select locations.

The product range combines proprietary Crowies-branded accessories (roller kits, brushes, methylated spirits, sandpaper, paint strippers) with a curated multi-brand portfolio of third-party paints including Wattyl, Solver, White Knight, Rustoleum, and Norglass Specialty Finishes. There is no proprietary technology platform; operations run on a traditional franchise retail model with a corporate/franchisor headcount of 51–100 staff. Customer acquisition relies on local store presence, content marketing through painting tips and advice, and the free-to-join Crowies Club loyalty program offering 10% off storewide purchases.

Revenue is generated through franchise fees and wholesale margin capture from franchisees (Retail Paint Sales, Franchise Fees) supplemented by the Crowies Club membership program. The customer base spans DIY homeowners and trade/commercial painters, with no disclosed enterprise customers or anchor contracts. The Crowies Group also includes Crowies Coatings, an adjacent brand serving industrial and commercial coating customers, and Evanstone Hardware, situating Crowies Paints within a multi-entity privately held corporate structure with no institutional investment disclosed.

Name

Crowies Paints

Legal name

Crowies Paints Pty Ltd

Website

https://crowiespaints.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Crowies Paints is a privately held Australian franchise paint retailer operating 28 stores across South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland, serving DIY homeowners and trade/commercial customers with multi-brand paint products, accessories, and free colour consultation services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Paint and Coatings Retail

NAICS

Paint and Wallpaper Retailers (444120)

SIC

Paints, Varnishes, Lacquers, Enamels & Allied Prods (2851)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHSAPAKAF

Exterior Painting & Surface Coatings

Home & Personal Services/Residential Renovation Services/Roofing, Siding & Exterior Renovation

SECONDARYHSAGAJAJ

Fence & Gate Painting, Staining & Sealing

Home & Personal Services/Home Repair, Maintenance & Handyman/Deck, Fence & Gate Repair

Keywords

• Retail paint sales
• Paint coating products
• Wallpaper retail
• Colour consultation
• Painting accessories

Headquarters

HQ city

Malvern

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices28 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Retail Paint Sales: Revenue generated from direct retail sales of paint products, paint accessories, wallpaper, and related decorating supplies through company-owned and franchise stores. Paint products sourced from major brands including Wattyl, Solver, Norglass, White Knight, Rustoleum, and proprietary Crowies branded products.
2. Franchise Fees: The company operates a franchise model with 28 stores, suggesting franchise fee revenue from franchisees. Franchise requirements include $350,000 available funds and hands-on commitment.
3. Crowies Club Membership: Loyalty program offering 10% discount to members on all purchases including paint, wallpaper and accessories, driving customer retention and repeat purchases.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Crowies Paints is a franchise-based paint and coatings retailer operating 28 physical stores across South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland. The company sells its own Crowies-branded paint range, complementary accessories (fillers, brushes, rollers, sandpaper, methylated spirits), wallpaper from third-party suppliers, and resells paint products from major brands including Wattyl, Solver, Norglass, White Knight, and Rustoleum. It also offers free in-store and at-home colour consultation services.

Product overview

Crowies Paints is a paint retail franchise offering a comprehensive range of painting products and services across 28 stores in Australia. The core offering includes the Crowies-branded paint products, fillers, accessories, and painting tools, complemented by a wide selection of third-party paint brands including Solver, Wattyl, White Knight, Rustoleum, and Norglass Specialty Finishes. The company also offers wallpaper products from premium suppliers, the Crowies Club loyalty program (10% member discount), and free colour consultation services. Crowies Coatings operates as a related brand serving industrial and commercial coating needs. The business operates on a franchise model with stores across South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Crowies Paints (Branded Paint Range)
• Crowies Painters Bog
• Crowies Methylated Spirits
• MaxiCut Sandpaper Rolls
• Crowies Roller Kits
• Crowies Premium Synthetic Brushes
• Wallpaper Products
• Third-Party Paint Brands (Solver, Wattyl, White Knight, Rustoleum, Norglass)
• Colour Advice Consultancy Service

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Crowies GroupcoreOthersParent company umbrella for Crowies Paints operations. The Crowies Group includes Evanstone Hardware Pty. Ltd., Crowies Paints Franchisor Pty Ltd, Crowies Paints Pty Ltd, Crowies Paints Holding Pty Ltd, and Crowies Coatings Pty Ltd.
• Crowies CoatingscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRelated entity under the Crowies Group providing industrial and commercial coating solutions, distinct from the retail paint store operations.
• WattylmajorTechnology or IntegrationMajor paint brand supplier providing extensive range of products including Solver, Wattyl, Estapol, KillRust, Pro Deck, and Colourthane product lines sold through Crowies stores.
• Norglass Specialty FinishesmajorTechnology or IntegrationAustralian family-owned manufacturer of high performance coatings for marine, industrial, and decorative applications. Products include Northane polyurethanes, Weatherfast enamels, epoxy systems, antifouling, and Liquid Glass epoxy resin.
• SolvermajorTechnology or IntegrationMajor Australian paint brand with products including Maxiwash, Maxi Ceiling Flat, Multi Block Stain Sealer, Duraguard, All Purpose Undercoat, Satin Enamel, and specialty coatings sold at Crowies.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Inspirations Paint: Australian paint retailer franchise offering premium decorative paint ranges through a network of independent stores, with a similar specialist-retailer model targeting both DIY homeowners and trade customers. Highly comparable to Crowies on store-format, customer mix, and franchise economics.
• PaintRight: Australian paint retailer franchise serving trade painters and DIY customers through independent stores, with a similar colour-consultation and multi-brand paint offering. Directly comparable on segment, geography, and franchise model.

Broad incumbents

• Sherwin-Williams: Global paint manufacturer with extensive company-owned retail (and franchise) store networks. Comparable to Crowies on the paint-retail-store model at international scale, representing an upper-bound on what scaled paint retail can look like.
• Taubmans (PPG): Long-established Australian paint brand serving both DIY and trade via own-brand stores and trade centres. Comparable on product range, target customers, and category positioning versus Crowies' curated multi-brand assortment.
• Wattyl (PPG): Major Australian paint brand whose ranges (Solver, Estapol, KillRust, Pro Deck, Colourthane) are stocked by Crowies. Comparable as a paint-sector brand with overlapping product portfolios; functions both as supplier and category competitor through trade channels.
• DuluxGroup (Dulux Trade Centres): Australia's largest decorative paint manufacturer and owner of complementary retail/trade channels. Competes with Crowies through Dulux Trade Centres and colour-branded retail experiences, and supplies competing paint brands also sold through paint retailers.
• Bunnings Warehouse: National Australian hardware chain owned by Wesfarmers that carries paint alongside a broad DIY assortment. Competes with Crowies for the DIY homeowner segment via scale, hours, and convenience, though without Crowies' specialist paint expertise.

Others

• Hempel: Global coatings manufacturer with Australian industrial/marine coatings exposure. Comparable as an upstream supplier in decorative and protective paints, adjacent to Crowies' broader coatings activities including Crowies Coatings.

Regional players

• Resene: New Zealand-originated paint manufacturer and retailer with Australian retail/trade presence. Comparable as a colour-led specialty paint brand with its own retail network in select geographies; competes with Crowies where footprints overlap.

Emerging players

• Benjamin Moore: Premium decorative paint retailer network with owner-operated independent stores emphasizing colour expertise. Comparable business-model analogue (specialty retail, expertise-led selling) even though Australian footprint and channel mix differ.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/crowies-paints

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Crowies Paints