FDD Talk: The Pak Mail Franchise Opportunity (Financial Performance Analysis, Estimated Costs, and Other Important Stuff You Need to Know)

In this FDD Talk 2016 post, you’ll learn the following:

• Section I – Background information on the Pak Mail franchise opportunity, including relevant news updates

• Section II – Estimated initial investment for a Pak Mail franchise, based on Item 7 of the company’s 2016 FDD

• Section III – Presentation and analysis of Pak Mail’s financial performance representations, based on Item 19 of the company’s 2016 FDD, including information on the:

• 2015 average gross sales for the Top 10%, Top 30%, Top 50%, and all 214 franchised Pak Mail Centers that were in operation at least two years before the reporting period of December 1, 2014 through November 30, 2015

Section I – Background Information

It may be a brave new digital world here in the 21st century, but people still need to move physical goods all around the globe, which is why Pak Mail Centers of America, a privately-held company, continues to be a leading provider of specialty crating and international shipping, along with private mailbox rental and business support services.

Founded in 1983, the company started franchising in 1984. Pak Mail used to be a public company traded under the symbol PMCX, but in 2003 went private. The number of locations began declining from its most recent high of 478 in 2008 down to 380 in 2015. This year the number has inched back up to 385 locations, 166 of which are located outside the U.S. and 1 of which is company-owned.

Here’s how Pak Mail keeps up with its tagline of Pak It, Ship It, Crate It, Freight It in the pack-and-ship industry:

Acquired by Annex Brands

Annex Brands announced its purchase of Pak Mail back in April of 2016. Annex is a privately-held company that owns a number of related brands, including PostalAnnex+, Navis Pack & Ship, AIM Mail Center, Handle With Care Packaging Store, Parcel Plus, Sunshine Pack & Ship, and Annex Copy Center.

No purchase price was disclosed, but it was a major acquisition for Annex Brands, boosting the company’s size by 82% in just one day and makes it the largest multi-carrier packaging and shipping organization in North America (and maybe even in the world), using such carriers as UPS, FedEx, DHL, the USPS, and freight carriers.

Shipping

When a customer needs to ship something, Pak Mail uses its system to determine which method and carrier will give the customer the best results, whether it’s for commercial or residential delivery. And they take into account the nature of the item, your budget, the destination, and the desired timeframe. There is no need to shop around to different carriers because Pak Mail takes care of that for their customers.

Packing

Whether it’s a small fragile item or a huge, heavy, and awkward piece, Pak Mail has more than 25 years of expertise in packing things up right. They also make custom boxes for items that won’t fit into any of their wide array of standard boxes, which means they’ll build the box around the item to make sure your items are safe and secure for shipping anywhere on the planet.

Custom Crating

When customers need the sturdiness of a crate for multiple items or fragile items, Pak Mail takes the time to evaluate your items and recommend the best crating solution, which might be a custom-built wooden crate or custom-built corrugated fiber-board container.

When needed, this will include the right pallets and skids to ensure stability during the shipping process.

Commercial Freight

Companies of any size that need ongoing freight logistics or just a one-time shipment can turn to Pak Mail for superior freight solutions. Unlike companies who impose minimum requirements to serve customers, Pak Mail will work with any company for any shipment, however frequently or infrequently its services may be needed.

Section II – Estimated Costs

• Please click here for detailed estimates of Pak Mail franchise costs, based on Item 7 of the company’s 2016 FDD (updated).

Section III – Financial Performance Representations (Item 19, 2016 FDD) and Analysis