Quick Printing

APR 2014

Quick Printing is the only business resource serving the quick and small commercial printing niche in North America. Quick Printing is the authoritative source for business information, emerging technologies, shop profiles and management insight.

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12 Q U I C K P R I N T I N G / A p r i l 2 0 1 4 w w w. M y P R I N T R e s o u r c e . c o m more than 3.3 percent, which translates to nearly $40 million in franchise system- wide sales. Interestingly, for 2013, one-color and multi-color offset printing increased near- ly 19 percent, while color digital was down some five percent. Demand for "other," brokered servic- es was huge, rising more than seven percent, to nearly 21 percent, over 2012. (See table.) The franchise set-up is ideally suited for many business owners. For the 21st time, Minuteman Press International has been rated the No. 1 printing franchise by Entrepreneur magazine (January 2014). Sir Speedy presi- dent and COO Rich Lowe said, "Our franchisees have embraced the opportuni- ties as full-service printing and marketing services providers and are adding offerings such as signage, online storefronts, and more." Based in Mission Viejo, CA, the Franchise Services brand has more than 400 locations worldwide. "Strategies that apply to franchises apply to the printing industry as a whole," observed Tom Crouser, chairman of CPrint International and founder, princi- pal, and president of consultancy Crouser & Associates, Charleston, WV. However, the diversity of adding services such as embroidery, sign-making, wide format printing, websites, and marketing services can make it difficult to develop an encom- passing marketing brand, believes Crouser, who has seen his share of change as a 29-year print industry veteran. That is why CPrint issued its last franchise agreement some two years ago, after "backing in" to the franchise game eight years before. "We saw less potential for affiliates to market as a group," Crouser explained. "That's because of the rapidly expanding non-uniform services adopted by inde- pendents, which wasn't the case in 2004 when we launched the brand." Crouser believes the new structure allows his for- mer print franchise to adapt faster to the changing business needs of print shops and sign companies. 'Blue Ocean' Strategy Within Alliance Franchise Brands, "Our message to our members is to transition from catchers of commodity print projects that someone else created to pitchers of high-value solutions that they recom- mend," explained Bob Milroy, president of Alliance's Marketing & Print Division based in Plymouth, MI. Alliance represents more than 600 centers with overall sales approaching $380 million. Its major brands include Allegra, Insty-Prints, and American Speedy Printing Centers. "This past year was typi- fied by decreasing print industry demand overall but sales of our 285 franchise members were up marginally over the prior year," Milroy reported. "We tell our franchise owners to deliver business outcomes, not just quality print- ing at a competitive price, which everybody can do," Milroy con- tinued. "We encourage them to become 'sales- driven' solution provid- ers, which we've identi- fied as our Blue Ocean strategy." The gist is to get out and offer solutions, he added, "because nearly all independent printers are not doing this. Many are still trying to win on speed, price, and service; as a result, they are not differentiated." To support its franchises in this quest, Alliance has built an internal tool called the Marketing Resource Center to coach them on selling marketing projects and helping to execute them. "This is a com- plete internal marketing services group with planners, copywriters, designers, web developers, and web marketing and social media experts," Milroy noted. "We've also put together extensive training on market- ing strategy and tactics, including a certifi- cation program for our members. "The outlook for 2014 is essentially more of the same for commodity print demand, but much more optimistic for our centers who have strategically diversi- fied into digital color, mailing services, large-format graphics, and marketing ser- vices," Milroy concluded. Certified Marketing Reporting similar results was Jay Groot, president of the Cypress, TX-based International Center for Entrepreneurial Development (ICED) print brands: Kwik Kopy Printing, Kwik Kopy Business Centers (KKBC), The Ink Well, Franklin's Printing, and American Wholesale Thermography (AWT). "Of our five print brands, the Kwik Kopy Business Center system has had steady, albeit not remarkable, growth, despite the depressed economy," Groot said. "Several centers from our other fran- chises have rebranded to KKBC, or plan to Job Mix Interestingly, for 2013, one-color and multi-color offset printing increased nearly 19 percent, while color digital was down nearly five percent. Demand for "other," brokered services rose more than seven percent over 2012. Category 2013 Percentage 2012 Percentage % Change 2013 $ Value Prepress 11% 7.4% +3.6% $39,657,955 1/C & Multi-Color Offset 40.49% 21.6% +18.9% $177,729,078 B/W Digital 9.1% 8.8% +0.3% $71,789,115 Color Digital 22.91% 27.9% -4.99% $155,363,535 Wide-Format 5.87% 5.3% +.57% $24,877,171 Finishing/Mailing 12.26% 14.2% -1.94% $89,998,615 Web Services 3.34% 1.1% +2.24% $23,807,945 Brokered/Other 20.83% 13.8% +7.03% $154,022,614 WANT MORE? Alphagraphics and ICED had 2013 sales of $290 million and $86 million, respectively. Additional commentaries and a detailed breakdown of franchise financials are available online at www.MyPRINTResource.com/11354346. QP_11-13_0414 Franchise.indd 12 3/19/14 1:55 PM

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