sept-2017

254 255 ANNEX BRANDS, INC. PostalAnnex, Pak Mail, AIM Mail Centers, Navis Pack and Ship, the Handle with Care Packaging Store, Parcel Plus, Sunshine Pack and Ship, and our quick print option, which is Annex Copy.” “All of that is now kind of folded under the Annex Brands umbrella,” Heine continues, “And so, combined, at this point in time, here in North America, from among all those various brands, we’re operating about 850 locations. And as our number one competitor is The UPS Store, more of a single platform carrier in terms of the shipping options today, we have the well-earned designa- tion of being the largest multi-platform shipper within our industry.” From the franchisee’s point of view, these acqui- sitions are wonderful news. It means a consolida- tion of resources, a much larger staff, a lot more support structure, and, because of its volume, the brand has leverage with the cost of goods. “The PostalAnnex business model really geared toward two main consumer groups,” says Heine. “We have that retail-residential side, just for peo- ple who live in the neighborhood that have peri- odic needs like shipping a holiday gift, or getting a notary on an important document. Then, the other main consumer group that we’re targeting is the SOHO - Small Office, Home Office - gener- ally organizations with 25 or fewer employees where there is a much greater demand for out- sourcing business services.” Another way in which Annex Brands maintains growth is through the quality of its franchisees. Heine recognizes three types of business owners all of which have different criteria for success. “First, we have multi-unit oper- ators, who are generally seen as absentee managers,” he explains. “They are interested in building the equity for themselves in the business, taking the profit off the top, but not necessarily displac- ing any labor because they’re fo- cused on other careers, activities, and business ventures. This is a fairly comfortable investment for a lot of those folks. If you look at the metrics within our business model, you can see how easy it is to continuing revenue streams. Our business model is what they consider a clean business model.We operate really close to normal hours of operation; there is limited business owner oversight; light staffing require- ments; and a broad labor pool. Even though we are in a retail setting, we are principally ser- vice-oriented. So, while we do carry some product and invento- ry, the product and inventory we do carry is not really subject to any shrinkage or spoilage. Card- board boxes don’t go bad if you don’t sell them every week. You don’t have to worry about peo- ple shoplifting bubble wrap and packaging peanuts, for the most part. So, when you take all those elements and add them togeth- er: light staffing, close to normal