Mail Boxes Etc (MBE) has a proud history. The multi-product global B2B business has a 30-year track record in Australia. Longevity and loyalty are almost built into the model, as CEO Clayton Treloar explains.
“We have a 10-year agreement and about a dozen stores which have been trading for more than 20 years. Our oldest franchisee couple in Canberra has been with the business 29 years!”
Stores all over the east coast have been shining examples of long-term business: Neutral Bay, Broadbeach and Currumbin opened their doors 30 years ago. Manuka, Hurstville, Kew and Robina are among those nudging that milestone with 29 years in business.
Clayton also has a sterling record with MBE – two years as a franchisee and a decade as CEO.
His experience as a franchisee has served him well as the CEO and owner of the Australian licence.
“I have been able to wear a franchisee’s hat and understand pain points. As a business owner, I can help them run their business from a corporate standpoint as I’ve been in their shoes.”
He can easily relate to franchisees’ challenges over staffing, landlords, and a diversifying customer base, and he understands how to make a profit.
Tripled sales in two years
“I had tripled my sales in the two years I ran my own franchise so when I took on the CEO role my fellow franchisees were very receptive. They wanted to see how I had achieved that,” he says.
So how did he do it?
“I tripled my sales through local area marketing,” he reveals. “I implore anyone to do this in any business, alongside networking. Business picked up very quickly.”
At the time Clayton headed up the only MBE store at Western Australia. While skilled in business operations and strategy, Clayton lacked the technical skills associated with the signage, printing, logistics and mail services that MBE offers.
“I didn’t know anything about printing but in a franchise like MBE you just need to know how to run a business. You follow the franchise recipe.
“You need tenacity; you go through the training and understand the systems and processes of business but if you can grip on to it and really take bull by the horns, that’s when it takes off.”
Clayton admits he didn’t agree with everything in the business model and process but it made sense to follow the system.
“But you do it anyway!” he says. “This business model has been around 20 years for a reason; I just had to make it my own.”
MBE clients are predominantly medium-sized businesses, and with its three-in-one business model, the franchise is well-placed to survive economic downturns – stores survived the Covid pandemic, for instance.
“We can diversify and focus on a particular revenue stream if it suits the market. Our printing diminished during Covid but shipping and mailbox revenue rose because everyone was at home,” explains Clayton.
MBE: global brand, local feel
A brand like MBE has multiple benefits for franchisees, he points out. It’s a global brand, with more than 3190 stores and all the advantages of volume and scale.
“I deal with UPS and DHL in so many millions of dollars, globally it is hundreds of millions. MBE gets a referred rate that is passed on from the global business to each franchisee.”
The franchisor continuously collects and analyses data that can help direct and drive franchisee growth, and supplier agreements ensure great deals. International collaboration and networking enable local franchisees to develop customer relationships with overseas businesses.
“There’s another advantage to being part of a global brand, knowing it has longevity. Covid hit our industry hard however MBE was agile and forward-thinking and introduced different concepts. We implemented an app for mailbox holders in lockdown so they could easily find out what mail they had.”
The global business provides innovative solutions and developments and it is up to each country operation to take what’s relevant for their market and customer base.
“We adopt and roll with about 80 per cent of what we are given,” says Clayton.
“The Australian business is a small fish in a big pond – we only have 38 stores in Australia, yet we’re all part of the one brand,” he says.
Work-life balance and family values
He says franchisees appreciate that they can achieve a work-life balance while making good profits.
“Which is why I bought it!” he says. “I didn’t want to work weekends and evenings; Monday to Friday is an attraction for business owners,” he says.
“Values, people, and family teams are important to me,” he adds.
And it’s this focus on values at MBE that reinforces the local, family feel in a business that has a global presence.
“Before I joined MBE in 2012 I went to the conference; there was a real family orientation and I was welcomed with open arms,”
Clayton was committed to continuing this personal focus as CEO.
“I write handwritten birthday cards and notes with vouchers; we celebrate a store of the month and have different categories for recognition – it’s not necessarily about revenue. At MBE we like to surprise and delight,” he says.