On occasions, it’s difficult to recognise the printing industry Steve Edwards is talking about. From his perspective it’s a go-ahead, technology-based, profitable, growth sector with direct engagement in marketing, design, websites and internet-portal construction. It’s an industry where his Snap franchise, one of the largest print providers in the country, has ambitious strategies to evolve into a marketing services enterprise. He talks with Patrick Howard about how the next 12 months will see the start of a major transformation in one of the industry’s highest profile brands.
Sometimes you can arrive on the right side of history. Quick printing was an innovation that drew criticism from commercial printers when it first made an appearance in the middle of the 20th century. Snap Printing’s famous slogan: ‘wait 20 minutes for your print or get it free’ brought howls of outrage from a printing industry that was masterful at keeping customers waiting in line, sometimes for weeks, to receive their print. Quick printing was looked down on and, in truth, there was often a ‘good enough’ standard to many of its products.
But quick printing was on the right side of history, markets and technology. On the horizon was the on-demand culture that now defines our society, along with the internet, personal communications and the digital technology that would make it all possible. Quick printing came to encapsulate what customers wanted: no-fuss production and almost immediate satisfaction. Nowadays, all print is quick print with 24-hour turnaround from order to delivery as the norm, not the exception.
For the Snap franchise it was always a question of waiting for the market and society, to move towards its business model, not the other way about. Its remarkably successful business model – it lost ‘Print’ from its name in 2008 –is focused on being at the forefront of technology and innovation. It is now the largest distributed purveyor of printing and related services to more than half a million clients every year, with a footprint that covers 156 centres in Australia; two in China; 21 in Ireland and five in NZ.
In the beginning
For such a diligently contemporary business it comes as a surprise to learn that Snap started in 1899, or at least the original Caxton Printing, quickly followed by the Imperial Printing Company did. One of the longest established companies in Perth WA, the Imperial owes its transformation into Snap Printing in the 1970s to Stan Watt, one of the first Australian businessmen to go to Harvard where he came across the then-novel idea of franchising. The Snap Printing franchise was the fourth chain to arrive in Australia – there are now 1,180 and Stan Watt went on to become a member of the Franchise Association’s Hall of Fame. He was part of the family that owned the original Imperial Printing and which still owns the multi-million dollar success that is present day Snap.
According to Steve Edwards, CEO, although the privately held company is still owned by the family, Snap operates with the same level of probity as a public enterprise. “It has great protocols, very high governance and while it’s quite conservative financially we’re committed to being ahead of the curve in operations. Snap turns over $130 million per year and is debt free.”
Selling service, not print
The decision to remove the word ‘Print’ from the company brand in 2008 was the result of careful consideration and extensive research. It was more than a rebranding; it was a marker towards the future. Edwards could see there were larger opportunities ahead for the franchise and that the world was changing more quickly than many in the printing industry realised.
“Dropping ‘Print’ from the name was an amazing process as many franchisees had a deep emotional attachment to the word,” he recalls at his North Ryde offices. “They had bought into a ‘printing’ business and while print remains the core business, Snap in its new form has other horizons to conquer. There was a battle for the hearts and minds and it got pretty horrible but we came through it and it gave us a solid base for the future.
“But rest assured, printing won’t leave our vocabulary. It’s where most of the money still is.”
In the new world of Snap, while print is still part of the matrix, it is no longer the defining product. That has become Service or more particularly, Marketing Services. Print is delivered as part of an overall offering based on speed and convenience coupled with integrated marketing intelligence. The mix ensures higher than industry average returns to the franchisee, while helping its customers’ businesses grow.
“We are selling a service. The aim is to evolve to being a service company from where it started as a manufacturing retailer. Snap is well placed because our service ethic suits the new market model. Other commercial printing models are not so nimble.
“Demand is changing; certain elements of operational printing are declining, such as letterheads, envelopes and forms. The downturn in demand didn’t hit us as it did the more mainstream print. It wasn’t our core activity. While we are now quality-based printers, our service is based on quick print to acceptable quality that is reasonably priced.”
Working on ‘bricks & clicks’
Steve Edwards is acutely aware of the fragmentation of marketing and the proliferation of communication channels. You get the feeling he lives and breathes this stuff. The impact of the internet, of web-to-print, of digital marketing has overturned the certainties that sustained printing for centuries. The race is on to adapt to the changed environment. But Snap’s future is not based solely on the internet. In the internet age, Edwards strongly affirms the role of the local printing centre.
“Clients like to deal with someone local. It’s still very important, people may not always come in but they drive past, they see our signs, they know we’re local. We integrate the physical centres with the internet or ‘brick & clicks’ to get the best of both worlds. The business is based on service, location and innovation.”
As a result, the Snap website – branded print: design: web: – is a masterwork of product and location interfacing. A search query on location will turn up your nearest centre – for Print21 at William Street, Woolloomooloo in Sydney there are five locations to choose from; Darlinghurst is the nearest with four others in the CBD. This is high profile print service delivery, but there is more to come.
Snap Marketing Centres
Never say never, but… it’s unlikely any Snap centre will ever buy another small offset press. Apart from the fact that digital engines from Konica Minolta, Canon, Ricoh and Fuji Xerox have thoroughly displaced the technology, there is a recognition that the Snap centre of the future will have little place for the manufacturing ethos of printing. A new breed of Snap centre is on the way; indeed it has already arrived with the emphasis on intellectual value, marketing nous and delivering support to small businesses.
So far there are four Snap Marketing Centres open – the first in Pyrmont, (NSW) then two in Melbourne and one in WA. The next sixteen are planned for this year and they’ll all be part of the new orientation of the franchise. It’s a brand new look.
The news SMCs have more focus on marketing intelligence, are a new format from the traditional centres, staffed by a minimum of two people, with around 100m2 of space with most production outsourced. They are not necessarily aimed at the traditional Snap owners demographic.
“We want people who are happy to be in customer facing roles, pushing marketing services, transforming themselves into small entrepreneurs. The concept is to create a marketing vibe, something creative and fresh. They’ll be able to receive orders, take meetings, provide a creative environment where customers will still be able to do self-service with copiers and so on.”
“It doesn’t suit everyone, lots of our people like to print and that’s okay too but it’s about doing the best for your customers in the future in our four key areas: Print, Design, Web and Marketing Services. Our mission is to help our customers grow, to refresh and promote themselves. Our job is to be relevant to our customers, to promote and service them frequently and add value in all we do.”
Marketing the brand
Snap is without doubt the highest profile enterprise in the printing industry. Its advertising is everywhere from the sides of buses to billboards, trucks and sponsorships. In an industry notoriously backward in promoting itself, the Snap exuberance is more than refreshing. “Snap spends millions of dollars on marketing ourselves, our brand and our franchisees. We have hundreds of advertising billboards around the country with over 80 vehicles running around the streets,” says Edwards. “We’re into major change management; we’re extending the brand more than ever. I’d say we have one of the biggest marketing spends in the industry.
It’s the high profile this marketing creates that attracts people into the franchise but even that is changing. The demands of the changing industry and Snap’s evolution are placing pressure on some franchisees.
“Demographic changes are not so much of a challenge as is longevity. Some Snap franchisees have been there a long time. It is a challenge for them to change as we’re trying to evolve. Some of them want to remain as printers, that’s what they like to do and I’m fine with that. A lot of them are doing really well as printers.”
“We are seeing new types of people coming in to buy franchisees – mortgage brokers, marketing managers. The new franchises are especially attractive to young people who may not have the capital for some of the larger million dollar franchises. But the demographic is less important than the attitude. The oldest Snap franchisee is 78; he’s got a great mindset. Last year we saw seventeen new candidates take on twenty-one of the franchises sold, most of them for print integrated with marketing.”
A long way to the top
Steve Edwards joined Snap as chief operating officer in 2001, notching up massive flying miles back and forward from Sydney to Perth for ten years before, on the retirement of his predecessor, Grant Vernon, he became CEO in 2011.
“It’s been an amazing ride. We outperform most of the industry in terms of gross margins, growth sectors, and opening locations. This year we’ll open sixteen new stores but will also sell twenty-one existing Snap franchises. Brokering is part of what we do.”
He is on the national board of the Printing Industries but, as he says, he really has no time. “I find the printing industry interesting in itself and I like to give something back. There are people on the council that I believe in, such as David Leach and Bill Healey. They are trying to help transform the industry. As one of the biggest printing companies in the country I feel it is right to put something back in. But we have to get rid of the politics.”
“The industry is struggling to transform itself. We have to change the collective mindset. Printing is not dead; some of the best and biggest firms are on the transformation path,” says Edwards.
“Snap is also on a growth path. We’re doing well; we have some major products and innovation developments coming out in the next few months, with Apps etcetera. As far as I’m concerned, the ‘fun is just about to start’.”