SIGNARAMA and EmbroidMe reverse national confidence trend

United Franchise Group brands SIGNARAMA and EmbroidMe are two examples of Australian franchises that have exceeded expectations and reversed the confidence trend currently seen in retail across Australia. Both franchises have broken their sales records in 2011 and the outlook over the next 6-12 months is for even greater growth says United Franchise Group’s Australian Director Evan Foster.

 

“Our ‘bricks and mortar’ brands have been performing extremely well so far this year,” said Foster. “We’ve recorded new records for SIGNARAMA in both March and again in June and for EmbroidMe in May and again June.” Foster says the group is on track to surpass their group-wide sales goal of $69m.

 

With the traditional peak period for these industries coming in the latter part of the calendar year, Foster expects even more from these brands before 2011 ends. “While there isn’t really any seasonality to either signage or embroidery, our peak period is usually September through December so we’re really excited about the rest of 2011 and beyond.”

 

The launch of the new SIGNARAMA website and e-Commerce platform has been a major contributor to the 7% growth of the brand, but Foster also suggested that improved efficiencies in point-of-sale and production have had a great impact on store performance.

 

“Our SIGNARAMA POS recently launched on the cloud, which has improved internal communication, turn-around times and response to customers. It’s the first program like it in the signage industry and we’re excited about how it ties all of our online resources together.”

 

EmbroidMe is the younger of the two UFG flagship brands and Foster says the growth of store revenues in that brand (9% for FY2011) has also been exciting. “We’ve measured the year-by-year performances of EmbroidMe against SIGNARAMA and it is phenomenal just how similar the numbers are at the same stage of each brand’s lifecycle in Australia. If EmbroidMe continues along the same path as it has done for the past 7 years, which we anticipate it will, then we’re super excited for what the future holds for EmbroidMe in Australia.”