Kinko's slowly adopts new FedEx identity

by Jill Henry

SBJ Reporter

jhenry@sbj.net

The outdoor signage at Springfield's Kinko's doesn't say so, but the stores are under new ownership.

FedEx acquired nearly 1,200 Kinko's stores worldwide Feb. 12 for $2.4 billion, including two in Springfield at 1722 S. Glenstone, Ste. A, and 303 E. Battlefield, Ste. E.

Changes are slowly taking place.

A new brand identity FedEx Kinko's Office and Print Center was announced April 26, along with a timetable for the rollout of the new identity and new services.

New window clings and new aprons for the 21 local employees 13 at Glenstone and eight at Battlefield are in place. Remaining changes, such as new signage, should be completed by May 31, 2005, the end of the company's fiscal year, according to company officials.

"We're rolling the rebrand out through the course of this fiscal year," said Maggie Thill, corporate media contact for FedEx Kinko's.

"Some changes that have already taken place (are) the ability to ship FedEx Ground or FedEx Express at our counters. We've added shipping specialists at many locations and trained a very large number of team members in accepting packages."

With 1,100 stores in the United States, Thill said a specific completion date for Springfield could not be determined.

Darren Merlin, senior center manager for Springfield, oversees both Springfield locations.

Customers, Merlin said, will notice very little difference in terms of the stores' day-to-day operations.

"We still continue to provide the same myriad of services that we did before and now, in addition to all of our core services, we now offer FedEx ground and express shipping out of both branches, and pretty soon we'll be offering full-service pack and ship services as well. That's really the only change that it's brought," he said.

Although the rebranding and name change are new, FedEx isn't new to Kinko's.

"We had FedEx Express drop boxes in almost all of our locations," Thill said. "This went from a network of drop boxes to having personal assistance within every FedEx Kinko's location for shipping."

Merlin is upbeat about the transition. "It's taken us into the fold of the FedEx umbrella and it's been a positive change for the team members in that they've become part of an even larger enterprise and it's given us a broader range of services that we can reach out to customers with," he said.

In training

Keeping up with technology is a priority. "The old Kinko's and now (with) FedEx Kinko's, we're always learning and we're always training because there's always a new product or service offering that's coming down the pike. A day doesn't go by where you don't learn something new," Merlin said.

In Springfield, no additional employees were hired due to the changes, but training is ongoing.

Merlin said two employees from both stores received hands-on classroom training at a St. Louis FedEx location, and spent time training in the FedEx World Service Center at 2221 E. Olive Court, just off East Chestnut Expressway. At the center, he said, employees learned the ropes "and how the entire operation, from start to finish, happens."

Corporate

The changes at FedEx Kinko's stores, which are all company-owned, will not affect FedEx services offered by independently owned mailing or packing centers, or freestanding drop boxes, Thill said.

According to the FedEx Kinko's Web site, the company has more than 50,000 retail locations worldwide.

For the quarter ending May 31, FedEx Corp. reported revenue of $7.04 billion, up 21 percent from $5.83 billion the previous year and net income of $412 million, up 47 percent from the previous year's $280 million.

Total average daily package volume at FedEx Express and FedEx Ground grew a combined 7 percent compared to the same time last year.