Seventh consecutive year of record growth for Australian print franchise

Written on the 21st of January 2009

Kwik Kopy print franchise owners are continuing to buck the economic downturn, recording a seventh consecutive year of growth through 2008 due to a robust business-to-business sales model and their ability to act quickly to meet the changing needs of both existing and new clients.
 
Kwik Kopy Australia’s aim is to deliver practical print advice, graphic design and advanced online access to provide its clients with superior communication products to enhance their business. According to David Bell, Managing Director of Kwik Kopy Australia the current climate of economic uncertainty is providing tremendous opportunity for franchisees to increase their business share.
 
“In the current climate all companies are looking at their cost structures and considering what changes they can make to reduce costs,” said Bell. “Looking for more cost-effective, innovative and rapidly-executed solutions for their design and print requirements is a large part of this. Customers are more receptive than ever to talking to new people about suppliers and solutions.”
 
Printing is a huge and diverse industry serviced by suppliers ranging from tiny independents through to large, global companies. “The industry is very fragmented,” said Bell, “which means that those who are fleet-footed are able to pick up business that others are not able to respond to quickly enough.”
 
“Typically, when times are tight customers order shorter runs more frequently. Our franchisees are profitable, well-capitalised, have a strong support network around them and are successfully competing on price against the larger printers on this business, whilst the independents are often too small to tackle corporate needs.”

 
The benefits of having the support of a large organisation behind you, in your own business are directly reflected through the performance results of Kwik Kopy franchisees and the franchise industry as a whole.
 
The findings of the Franchise Council of Australia’s biennial survey of the sector, announced late 2008, provided hard evidence that franchising in Australia continues to expand and provide excellent opportunities for franchisors, franchisees and employees.
 
Currently there are 1100 business format franchisors operating in Australia, up from 960 systems two years ago representing a continued 14.6% growth rate in franchises systems from 2006-2008.
 
Business format franchised units represent some 3.7 percent of all small businesses in Australia and overall growth rate is 15.4% (up from the 14.6% from 2004-2006). Total sales turnover for the franchising sector was estimated to be $130 billion, a significant contribution to the Australian economy and the sector is extremely stable with 93% of franchising units remaining under the same ownership.
 
Annual benchmarking across the 109 Kwik Kopy franchises in Australia has shown a consistent increase in sales and profits throughout the group. “In 2008 we recorded a seventh consecutive year of record sales and profit. The results of our benchmarking prove that the Kwik Kopy Franchisor's commitment and focus on the sustained and increasing profitability of its franchisees is working and we are achieving great results,” said Bell. “This goes a long way to underwriting the value and desirability of our business.”
 
Kwik Kopy Hilton (Adelaide, SA) franchise owner Garth Anesbury said 2008 was a record year for his business. “In the last 12 months we have seen a growth rate of 17%, against 9% over the previous period. For the last five months including December 2008 we have had record growth, and that’s over the last 12 years of the business.”
 
Kwik Kopy Australia is always looking for new franchisees to take on both existing and new businesses and provides a cost-effective and structured route for individuals to own their own business.
 
“Most franchises are business-to-consumer franchises with a strong retail presence, so they have lots of set-up costs such as store fit-outs in shopping centres,” said Bell. “Our franchise is business-to-business so generally cost of entry is lower and business is more consistent.
 
“We are seeing a number of enquiries from people who have recently been made redundant and have decided to take the opportunity to own their own business rather than continuing to work for others,” he said.
 
For Anesbury, whose parents previously owned his franchise for 12 years, the desire to run his own business was extremely strong. “I always worked hard, regardless of whom I worked for or where I worked,” he said. “I always put in long hours and extra effort and sometimes felt that I didn’t get any extra benefits for that. I always felt that if I had my own business there would be a reward for that extra effort and I was right.”