Retailers Forum Sept. 2014 Sept 2014 | Page 58

FORUM WORKSHOP Forum Workshop 5 5 • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 4 Case History #3: Expansion for the Wrong Reasons Fred Blackbumʼs story of business success and then failure is very complex. He successfully operated a PIP quick printing franchise for a decade. When a downtown renovation eliminated most of the parking near his business and made access difficult, sales began to decline. He lost his franchise and continued to operate as Fredʼs X-Press Printing. A few years later, Fred was evicted from his downtown location _ the building had been sold and was going to be torn down and replaced with a new bank office tower. Wanting to keep both a mall presence and a downtown store, he chose to move across the street into another new building. Moving was not new to Fred; he had had to do it twice before. But this time he had to pay for plumbing, wiring, and interior wall construction – and business was bad. Furthermore, quick print shops were proliferating in the downtown area at the time. And photocopy businesses using high quality, high speed machines further eroded his market share. Nevertheless, after Fred moved, he found himself with an extra printing press that didnʼt fit into his tiny new shop. So he decided to open a third store, just because he had the equipment, he said, even though he did not have enough equipment to open a full-service shop or enough capital to upgrade his own photocopying machines. He was saved from bankruptcy by a buyer, who closed the third location immediately. continued... LICENSED T-SHIRTS Rock, Reggae, Novelty & More! Stickers, Patches & Flags Too! T-Shirts are available by the piece ($100 minimum) or in money-saving pre-pack assortments. THIS MONTH’S SPECIALS! 100 ASSORTED METAL BAND 100 ROCK T-SHIRTS HOODIE AND TRACK JACKET TEES FOR $399 FOR $299 PRE-PACK Artists include Metallica, Slayer, 30 ASSORTED HOODIES AND An Assortment Of Classic, Heavy Iron Maiden, Avenged 7X and more. Metal, Alternative, And Current TRACK JACKETS FOR $299 Rock Artists And Bands F O R U M For more info check out our website catalog, with over 4,000 photos! BACKSTAGE FASHION DISC VER NETWORK Cards ® ® www.backstage-fashion.com 1-800-644-ROCK (7625) Want More Info? Circle #02 on page 11 • www.Vendor411.com