FastSigns

FASTSIGNS International, Inc. Establishes New Store Development Team




January 17, 2006 - (CARROLLTON, Texas) — To provide more comprehensive support for new FASTSIGNS® sign and graphics centers in the United States and Canada, FASTSIGNS International, Inc. has established an opening support team comprised of a director and three franchise business consultants (FBCs), the company said. FASTSIGNS International, Inc. is the worldwide franchisor of FASTSIGNS® centers; there are nearly 500 locations in six countries.

Beginning this month, the new team will support centers from the time the franchise agreement is signed until the center’s sales consistently exceed the break-even point, said Trent Lensch, the company’s vice president of operations. Lana Daley, a former FASTSIGNS® center employee and corporate FBC, is the director of the new store development team. She will be joined by Mike Richards, Tammy Coil and Robert Shipman, who all have worked as FBCs supporting established FASTSIGNS® centers.

“Over the last 12 – 18 months, the adoption of new technologies such as flatbed and solvent printers has significantly changed our business,” said Lensch. “The feedback we’ve received from new owners is one reason we established the new store team. Lana and her team, who have in-store and FBC experience, will provide the operations, marketing, technology, production and management support that the new center owner and the staff need to be successful.”

Although it is not unusual for franchise organizations to have dedicated teams that provide short-term help for new locations, FASTSIGNS International is providing longer-term dedicated support for new centers, Lensch said, who has managed operations and sales for other franchise companies.

Daley, who worked in property management before joining the FASTSIGNS® network, has sales, operations and general management experience. Coil’s background in day-to-day FASTSIGNS® center operations, Richards’ knowledge of technology, and Shipman’s general management and sales skills round out the store development team.

In addition to establishing the new center team, FASTSIGNS International has promoted Mike McCabe, who previously was an FBC, to director of operations for the eastern U.S. and Canada. Scott Watson will continue as the company’s director of operations for the western U.S. McCabe and Watson oversee teams of FBCs that support established centers and new centers that “graduate” from the new development team.

FASTSIGNS International, Inc. has territories available for new centers throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, as well as in Brazil, Mexico and Australia, where locations operate under the SIGNWAVE® name, said Bill McPherson, the company’s vice president of domestic franchise sales.

All new FASTSIGNS® centers open with large-format, full color printers and other new sign-making equipment, which makes each location capable of producing large-format prints, vehicle graphics, trade show graphics, banners, exterior and interior signs, floor graphics and many other kinds of signs and graphics. For more information, visit franchise.fastsigns.com or call 800-827-7446.