The franchise moves swiftly to limit damage following the failure of the Fitzroy and St Kilda stores last week. David Bell, CEO Kwik Kopy affirms his belief in the ongoing viability of the businesses.
The stores went into liquidation when the owners, the Lindley family, called in the administrators, Olympus Forge earlier in the week. The family had operated the Kwik Kopy Centres for a number of years.
“We are confident that these are good businesses and they have the backing of a strong team dedicated to their success,” said Bell. "They are both profitable and we will recapitalise them before offering them for sale. We will continue to provide the highest level of service to all customers and the full range of Kwik Kopy products and services is available.”
According to Bell, it is a case of the owners making some bad business decisions, including buying an iGen against the advice of the franchise while racking up considerable debt. They join six or seven such failed stores over the past decade where in the majority of cases there was nothing wrong with the actual business.
"People do things against our advice, they carry too much debt. If you are earning say $100 a week but paying out $150 in interest and capital repayments then something has to give. In the majority of cases the businesses went on to become very very profitable."
He points to the success of the Bondi Junction Kwik Kopy store that went into liquidation last year only to reemerge as a successful go-ahead operation. "It is now on the top of the ladder in our growth league, a terrific result for everyone. We have a store that's growing while he has a successful business," said Bell.
Another store rescued from liquidation was the Kwik Kopy Central City, bought by Philip Joel who rebranded his existing Elizabeth Street Printer's Devil store to go on and successfully integrate the two businesses. "He is a printer of great ability and while he learns from u we also learn a lot from him," said Bell.
Every year approximately ten per cent of Kwik Kopy franchises are for sale. At present there are three listed on its home page for Victoria, Tasmania and Brisbane. None for New South Wales. "We can't get enough stores to satisfy the demand," said Bell.