MINUTEMAN PRESS
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Minuteman Press focus Franchising
Minuteman Press is one of the world’s leading printing franchises says the man responsible for running its South African operations, Frik van Niekerk.
By Ian Armitage
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s one of the most prestigious printing franchise organisations in the world, Minuteman Press needs little introduction. It has been rated the top printing franchise in the world over 20 times by Entrepreneur Magazine. That’s an amazing feat and perhaps unsurprisingly the firm “occupies a unique position” in the printing industry. “We’re a global business born from the US,” says the man who heads up Minuteman Press in South Africa, Frik van Niekerk. “We’ve been in South Africa since 1996.” Minuteman was founded in 1974 and has been franchising since 1975. “I’m very much enjoying the challenge that is Minuteman in SA. There is a lot of growth still to come in the market and we have ambitious growth plans,” van Niekerk continues. “We’re very happy with performance and have increased sales to date on last year – over 10 percent – so it is going really well. We’re looking to put some new stores in the Western Cape. Everything is going fine.” His goal is to “strengthen and grow existing operations” and add “three to four” new stores a year. The Western Cape, Free State Province and KZN are “the main” focus. “It is an exciting time. We’re certainly seeing the benefits of our marketing efforts and have been updating our SEO-SEM programme that runs through the whole website and generates a lot of leads. I think the brand is getting more and more well-known and I would attribute a lot of the last years’ successes to that.” www.southafricamag.com
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Minuteman Press focus Franchising
Konica Minolta South Africa Konica Minolta South Africa has a longstanding relationship with South Africa’s biggest printing and copying franchise, Minuteman Press South Africa. The company, through its award winning bizhub digital production presses, has assisted numerous Minuteman Press outlets countrywide to produce the highest quality digital printed material for countless clients. “Konica Minolta South Africa values its relationship with the Minuteman Press group. Our focus goes further than supplying only hardware equipment as we centre our business offering on also providing excellent back up support and additional professional services, such as integration, development of custom solutions and specialised services,” says Leon Minnie, product manager: production systems at Konica Minolta South Africa
Mr van Niekerk joined the firm in 1998. He previously worked for AM International, a firm that supplied Minuteman Press International. “I was employed to provide back-up support to its SA operations and it was in 2009 that I assumed responsibility for the SA region when Adele Schalit, who introduced the concept to South Africa, retired.” Minuteman Press is a franchise organisation that specialises in printing services, copying and document reproduction and graphic design services. By “combining the quality of a commercial printer with the ease and speed of an instant printer”, it has carved a unique niche within the printing industry. “Our outlets offer an extensive range of products and services,” says van Niekerk. “We do everything including digital printing, binding, colour copying, design, embossing, foil stamping, full colour printing, logo design 4
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In addition to the Minuteman Press group, Konica Minolta South Africa has business partnerships with various other print companies that benefit from its award winning production equipment, from short run on-demand printing, quick and effective proofing solutions to corporate print rooms and commercial printers. The company also supplies a range of software solutions to manage centralised print environments, web 2 print solutions, variable data printing (VDP), photo books, mail houses and remote monitoring systems, all to improve productivity and maximise return on investment. Konica Minolta South Africa, wholly owned by the Bidvest Group, stands at the forefront of business solution providers as the principal importer and distributor of the innovative and award winning Konica Minolta range of bizhub digital multi-functional colour and black & white devices, business solutions and digital production equipment, into South Africa as well as Namibia, Malawi, Botswana and Swaziland. Konica Minolta South Africa’s head office is based in Johannesburg and 17 branches and 48 dealerships support its distribution network. For further details, visit www.konicaminoltasa. com or contact Konica Minolta South Africa on 0860 bizhub (249 482)
and saddle stitching. The product range includes envelopes, flyers, invitations labels, manuals, menus, price lists and presentation folders. Pretty much everything.” Minuteman Press, he concedes, isn’t the cheapest – and it wouldn’t pretend it was. What it does offer is unrivalled quality. “Our quality speaks volumes. All businesses I know of use print and we are able to offer high quality service while fulfilling the total graphic needs of almost any customer. The formula works and our financials prove that.” In 2009 Minuteman Press SA enjoyed over five percent growth. In 2010 it was close to seven percent. In 2011 it was 12 percent. This year it was 10 percent. It’s a phenomenal achievement. What’s the secret? “I think that we have always focused on small- to medium-sized businesses in a particular area and that is the key – service delivery,” van Kiekerk answers. “We focus on those customers and at the same time give them excellent service and a high quality product. Our niche market is a void 6
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We remain in that segment of the market and as a franchise we are always growing in number. It has a lot to do with our ability to develop innovative strategies to be a step ahead of the market and competition
Minuteman Press focus Franchising
I think our performance shows that businesses need printing services no matter which way the economy turns
that is created between the big commercial printer and the copy shop type of operation and that is why we’re successful. We remain in that segment of the market and as a franchise we are always growing in number. It has a lot to do with our ability to develop innovative strategies to be a step ahead of the market and competition. We add value for clients and haven’t been tempted to cut back and offer that cheaper price, which often affects quality. “At the end of the day there are some businesses that are all about price and there are some who focus on quality – a quality product, delivered on time and at a reasonable price. We strive for that. “I think our performance shows that businesses need printing services no matter which way the economy turns.” Van Niekerk continues to successfully implemented Minuteman Press’ winning formula on South African soil. He says it has a lot to do with choosing the right franchisee – hard working, highly motivated, with a high regard for service excellence and the ability to “follow systems”. “We’ve created a blueprint for success. Our plan going forward is to remain a leading brand in SA within the industry. We want to build on existing relationships that we’ve taken time to build up and we’re going to expand our footprint, particularly in the Western Cape.” A new Minuteman Press outlet will open in the Western Cape early next year. To learn more visit www.minutemanpress.co.za.
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