Date

Subject

Expanding Into Canada: Successful Instant Imprints Heads North

Enjoying phenomenal franchising success in the United States, promotional products giant Instant Imprints is poised for major expansion into the Canadian marketplace

San Diego, CA – US Franchise News – Partnering with a master licensee that also represents UPS, Instant Imprints is gearing up for explosive growth in Canada. “From a development standpoint, this works out well for us because this group is well versed in franchising,” says Leo Kats, President of Instant Imprints, “and what they found in our business model is that it’s a strong complement with what they’re already doing with the UPS Store in Canada.” This is Instant Imprints’ second international license; their first one is with Ireland, secured last year.

The promotional products franchise’s goals for aggressive growth in Canada are off to a fantastic start, with three units already sold in the Toronto area and two units in the Vancouver region. Instant Imprints plans to have a dozen stores up and running in the Canadian market by the end of 2008. “The franchise model is pretty much identical to what we already have in the U.S.,” notes Kats. “There is a small difference in equipment, but the store footprint is about the same.”

With its strong currency and existing channels of distribution, the Canadian market looks very promising for Instant Imprints. “This is about a $3 billion dollar market up there,” says Kats. “It’s wide open for expansion.”

In Canadian currency, the franchise fee for a Canadian store is $30,000. The basic equipment package runs $125,000. Royalty fees are 6%. Training is currently offered at company headquarters in San Diego. Two sets of Canadian franchisees have already completed their training in this Southern California location. The first group has previous experience in retail. The second is a husband-and-wife team with backgrounds in computers and real estate.

In the United States, Instant Imprints has approximately a hundred franchises in operation. “We’ve got big plans for 2008 and 2009,” says Kats. “We’ve brought in new staff, added salespeople, and brought in a new CFO.”

                                                       # # #

Since opening its first franchise store in San Diego in 2002, Instant Imprints has experienced phenomenal national and international growth. Specializing in promotional items, Instant Imprints stores offer services in screen printing, embroidery, banners and signs, promotional products, and heat transfers in both B2B and retail sectors. The company’s turnkey franchise package includes store location assistance and a complete set of equipment, from a screen-printing press to full embroidery machines.

USFranchiseNews, a division of Proven Business System and a privately held company, operates as an integral website presence representing the franchise industry for the purpose of educating and enlightening its viewers while also providing them with additional key information to further investigate their franchise of interest. For membership inquiries please contact director@usfranchisenews.com

back to top

Instant Imprints Expands Internationally

Instant Imprints, San Diego, recently announced plans for international expansion with entry into Ireland. Over the next 15 years, the company plans to open more than 50 franchises in the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom's province of Northern Ireland. Martin Quinn, a master franchisee for ReMax with approximately 70 locations in the region, will lead Instant Imprints' expansion plans in Ireland. For more information, call 800.542.3437.

back to top

Innovative Imprinting Franchise Expands Office to Facilitate Growth

Instant Imprints, the first franchise concept to embrace every facet of the imprinted promotions market recently announced the move of their headquarters from a 7,000-sq.-ft. office to a 22,000-sq.-ft. facility located at 9808 Waples Street in San Diego.

The upgraded facility includes a state-of-the-art training center with a 24 student high-tech classroom, a separate hands on-training room, new staging and production areas where custom-built turnkey packages are created for new franchise owners, and a data center to support the company’s growing infrastructure and technological developments.

back to top