FASTSIGNS started with one location in 1985 in Austin, Texas.

They now have 700 locations in multiple countries.

The company has been bought and sold multiple times by private equity firms, and is now owned partly by the current management.

At one time they were owned by Roark Capital of Atlanta, a company that also owned Cinnabon and Sclotsky’s Delicatessan.

FASTSIGN S has been featured on Undercover Boss.

They have had competition from Sign-A-Rama, Signs Now, Sign World, and even FedEx through their acquisition of Kinko’s Pint & Copy Centers. Office Max and Office Depot also try to compete in the sign and banner business, without much success.

They do not do big freestanding electrical signs like you find at car dealerships and in Las Vegas. Those require a contractor’s license.

They also don’t do low-end price competitive cost per square foot banner and sign printing sold over the Internet.

They have this nice niche selling to local businesses who need more or better signage, and they take a very consultative approach to sales. What business doesn’t want to increase their sales?

When I knew them in 2003-2010, they were also getting into video displays like menu boards in fast food restaurants. They were also getting into Advertising Specialties, putting a company’s logo on anything from hats and shirts to pens and post-it notes.

Most of the original franchisees sold out when the founder, Gary Solomon, sold the business to Roark, and he moved up to chairman.

Gary was an amazing guy that cared about the success of the franchisees, but probably not the guy who could grow the business and make a ton of money in monthly franchise fees, since fees were paid on gross sales, not profit.

Many stores in smaller markets were losing money but just like the rent or the payroll, paying/ FASTSIGNS 6% of gross sales plus a 2% advertising fund. Which FASTSIGNS spends extensively on TV advertising.

Their website hasn’t changed much in 15 years.