Business View - March 2015 65
The company’s historic pedigree traces back to 1976
when American Speedy Printing Centers was founded
and became a franchised operation a year later.
Over the years the company’s marketing and print divi-
sion has grown organically and via acquisition: it ac-
quired Canadian-based Zippy Printing in 1995 and the
Insty-Prints network in 2002. The Allegra brand was
launched in 2000 and the vast majority of members
have adopted it to better reflect the evolution of the
business model from essentially a retail copy shop into
a diversified marketing and business communications
service provider.
Dirk Nelson, VP of Operations and Development since
2005 explains, “Back in the late ‘90’s it was clear that
a better business strategy for our members was to
diversify into a broader range of services to meet a
broader range of customer needs. Our customer re-
search confirmed the small and medium-sized busi-
ness manager longed for a single source to help ex-
ecute their marketing and business communications
projects. We erected the Allegra brand, in large part,
in response to this customer demand. As our mem-
bers have diversified into digital printing, variable data
printing, signage, web services, mailing services, plan-
ning and consulting and more, a new brand was a ne-
cessity. Thankfully, focus group research found the Al-
legra name did resonate with our market.”
Beyond a diversification into new products and ser-
vices, the Allegra model has also transitioned from a
reactive, retail, transaction-based model into a pro-
active, sales-driven solution model typically located in
commercial centers.
Nelson comments, “To make good on our value propo-
sition of a single source for marketing and business
communications requires knowledgeable outbound
sales professionals. To drive that effort we help re-
cruit, hire and train sales professionals for our owners.
Today, the majority have made this leap. In fact, we’ve
helped add more than 75 sales professionals to the
ranks in just the past couple years.”
As the result of its drive to diversify and professional-
ize the sales effort, the average Allegra branded cen-
ter now boasts in excess of $1 million in sales, with
more than 25 centers surpassing $2 million in sales
from a single location. A typical center will have be-
tween 6 and 10 employees, depending on the breadth
of services offered in-house.
Another growth driver for Allegra centers is an aggres-
sive acquisition program. The franchisor identifies
independent printing and mailing service businesses
interested in selling and facilitates the acquisition;
helping with business valuation, deal structure, etc.
This program has resulted in more than 300 transac-
tions since it began. In 2014, 24 acquisitions were
completed at an average of more than $400,000 per
deal, totaling more than $10 million in incremental
sales for its members.
AT A GLANCE
WHO:
Allegra Network, an Alliance Franchise
Brands company, Plymouth, MI
WHAT:
Business-to-business opportunity serving
small businesses in marketing, print and graphic
communication services. No start-ups here. We
find a business for you.
WHERE:
Availability in US and Canada
WEBSITE
:
PHONE
: 800-726-9050
FRANCHISE
