Never Sold a Franchise
in His Life
Ralph Askar is building a successful brand… again
By Kerry Pipes
J
ust as history has a way of
repeating itself, Ralph Askar
has a way of leaving his mark
on organizations. He’s doing
it again with Instant Imprints.
In his more than 25 years in franchising, the former civil engineer from
Chicago has been one of the most successful area franchisees and international
master licensees for Mail Boxes Etc.
(MBE) and The UPS Store, working
to build the brands in the U.S., Canada,
Europe, and Australia. He’s also been on
both sides of the fence, as franchisee and
franchisor. At MBE, he was a corporate
executive, serving as vice president and
as president and CEO for the brand in
Canada. In 2005, under his leadership,
MBE rebranded as The UPS Store and
went on to enjoy significant growth as
a franchise.
In 2008, Askar became a shareholder
and board member of Instant Imprints
Franchising, and in May 2011 became
president and CEO. And now he has
growth on his mind again.
Throughout his career, Askar says
he has been consistent in his approach.
“I have never sold a franchise,” says the
67-year-old. “But I have presented opportunities to the right people who then
desire to be a part of the brand.” He’s
also worked hard to create franchise
cultures that people believe in and want
to be part of—and that’s just what he’s
doing today at Instant Imprints.
The brand dates back to the 1950s
when co-founder Lev Kats began screen
printing with homemade equipment.
The family business grew to include
multiple locations in San Diego. Today
the “one stop branding shop”—which
began franchising in 2002—offers its
Name: Ralph Askar
Title: President and CEO (aka Team Leader)
Company: Instant Imprints
Brands: Instant Imprints and The UPS Store
Age: 67
Family: 3 children, 5 grandchildren
Years in franchising: 25-plus
Years in current position: 2
customers embroidery, screen printing,
heat tr ansfers, signs, banners, wraps,
and promotional items. And thanks to
Askar, there are big plans for growth
and expansion.
In 2012, Askar launched a five-year,
strategic expansion plan to grow Instant
Imprints from its current 40 locations in
North America to 500 locations globally. The strategy projects new units
in Instant Imprints’ North American
markets, as well as crossing into new
international territories.
To execute these plans, Askar has
handpicked an executive team and begun
making the kind of bold moves that have
become characteristic for him. “We’ve
completely redesigned our stores,” he says,
“and reduced the cost of startup by 35
percent.” The brand also has introduced
more advanced and efficient technology and equipment for the stores. And
new vendor relationships are making it
easier for franchisees to stay focused on
their business. With these fresh changes
Franchiseupdate I ssue I , 2013
Grow Market Lead
CEO
profile:
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