A brief history of the UPS Stores:

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vic

Guest
A brief history of the UPS Stores:

1980: U.S. Mail Boxes founded by Gerald Aul, Pat Senn, and Robert Diaz. Name changed to Mail Boxes Etc. USA

1986: Name changed to Mail Boxes Etc. Becomes a publicly traded company.

1997: U.S. Office Products Co., a $3.5 billion supplier of office materials and services, plunked down $267 million to purchase Mail Boxes Etc. (MBE) Inc., the world's largest franchisor of business communication and postal service centers. Industry insiders were optimistic about the partnership's prospects, as MBE's 3,300 worldwide retail locations join forces with U.S. Office's massive purchasing power.

2001: UPS acquired MBE from bankrupt U.S. Office Products for $200 million, rescuing the company from a firm that could not finance expansion because of a $1 billion debt burden and other troubles. MBE sent between $60 million and $70 million in profits to USOP during its five-year ownership and received nothing in return, MBE officials recalled.

2003: More than 3,000 MBE locations began re-branding as The UPS Store. Ranks first in Entrepreneur magazines annual "Franchise 500" in the postal and business services category for the 13th consecutive year.

(Message edited by Vic on October 18, 2003)
 
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loyalmbe

Guest
Vic,

All in all a good brief history! I would disagree with your characterization of this being the history of The UPS Stores. This is most certainly the history of Mail Boxes Etc. up to the point of rebranding.

Interesting that you made no mention of Tony DeSio the man who masterminded the growth and expansion.

Also, it is interesting that USOP bought the company for $267 million, more or less, took $65 to $70 million out without putting anything back in and sold it for about $200 million. Sounds like USOP broke even on the deal. Actually, I think they bought with a lot of leverage and trading of their over valued stock, and sold for cash, so they really made money on MBE. Too bad the other pieces of the conglomerate were such sinkholes.

The history of the UPS Stores is yet to be written, most of it hasn't happened yet.
 
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dannyboy

Guest
You know, with your brand of optimism, this whole conversation would be in another language, and in a different country.

MBE, UPS and thousands of others were founded by visionaries that saw what if, and went after it with a passion. THey made it into what they dreamed.

It would seem your only passion is to whine or complain. If you would spend the time wasted on this board and others trying to grow your busines, instead of crying about how you are being shafted............

IT kinda reminds me of the other opressed minorities in this country. As long as they feel sorry for themselves and whine about how rough and unfair life is they never went anywhere. The minute they understood how this country works, they got ahead. Within a few years we will have a minority president, all because they quit feeling sorry for themselves and did something about it.

Maybe you ought to also.

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tieguy

Guest
Vic take me to the chapter where they wack the disloyal mbe owners. Thats my favorite.
 
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capnroxxor

Guest
The only thing UPS has brought to the table so far is resale price maintinence and removal of control of my store. UPS is making more money off the store than I am and that is inexcusable.
 
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kidlogic

Guest
Cap what would you have done if no one bailed out the failing business??? What if Big Brown instead of buying MBE decided to take on MBE with it's deep pockets/// Do you really think that the drowning MBE could have taken on UPS if it parked a UPS store in the same town and taken away your discounts???
Seems to me you were as lucky as RPS was that Fedex bought them out because they were on their way down and were saved by Fedex. This too could be a windfall rather then the end as it could have easily been. Cowboy up!!!! and stop complaining.
 
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capnroxxor

Guest
UPS would never shoulder the burden of paying the rent and other overhead costs of running a retail store on a national level. The MBEs would have done fine going independant. There is a trade organization called AMPC that provides many of the same services a franchisor does without requiring royalty payments. The success of an individual store depends more on the individual storeowner than belonging to one group or another, ultimately. It was not MBE that was unsuccessful. It was Office Products that failed, and MBE would have survived them.
 
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capnroxxor

Guest
I forgot this point: UPS would be unlikely to take away the discounts or ASO status even if they created the UPS Stores with UPS employees and left MBE alone. They are still running the ASO program, most noticably with Office Depot and Staples. UPS wont discontinue the program lest they give FedEx or Airborne the chance to move in. They will try to slowly choke the other mail stores while smiling at them the whole time, and hog the Office supply chains although they hurt thier own franchise by continuing the program with them. Is competition supposed to be fostered by your own franchisor?
 
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dannyboy

Guest
"The success of an individual store depends more on the individual store owner that belonging to one group or another, ulitmately"

Hehehe, Just keep talking and posting, you make my point all the time. Your success or failure is yours. Dont blame UPS for either one.

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