Australian sign and graphics franchise Signwave is planning further expansion this year, bolstered by a string of accolades its parent company Fastsigns has achieved in the US. It has been a record-breaking financial year for the international franchise, Fastsigns has signed more than 50 franchise agreements, opened another 40 units and raked in a global revenue of $US400m, an all-time high for the company. It also celebrated the opening of its 600th Fastsigns centre, and achieved a number one ranking in Franchise Business Review’s top 200 franchises list for the business services category.
Signwave Australia head office
General manager of Signwave Australia Linda Sultmann says the results are encouraging as they have a similar business model, “Fastsigns is demonstrating the strength of the business model in the US which will have an impact on people looking for franchises in Australia.” Sultmann says now is the right time for Signwave to embark on its growth plan, since 2014 it has been focused on increasing average centre volumes in existing franchises. She says they are now looking to open centres in strategic locations like Canberra, Brisbane and Perth. “We are looking to open anywhere between two to three this year hopefully, we are just implementing our marketing campaign now, and this can take some considerable time,” Sultmann says. “In the next 12 to 18 months we want to achieve that. We are not looking to open hundreds of centres, it is about finding the right franchisees.” Sultmann reports the company is continuing to experience growth year on year and 2016 has seen a boost in sales volumes. In the September quarter, half its stores achieved more than ten per cent growth in comparison to the same period in 2014. The top four Aussie Signwaves saw sales rocket by more than 40 per cent.
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