K & N Mobile Franchises Opens First Franchise in Abilene, Texas

By: K & N Mobile Franchises, Inc. | 14 Shares 193 Reads

Franchising venture gives company opportunity to grow customer base, business relationships

January 04, 2009 // Franchising.com // Fort Worth, TX - K & N Mobile Franchises, Inc., the franchising venture of K & N Electric, Inc., opened its first franchise in Abilene, Texas on Sept. 1, 2008. The first four months have been a great success for the West Texas franchisee.

Mark Fenter, K & N Mobile Franchises' first franchisee, was in industrial sales primarily working with oilfield customers before joining the K & N team. Mr. Fenter lives in Abilene, and his territory includes a large section of West Texas. K & N Mobile Franchises, Inc. is in the final stages of opening its second franchise in Buffalo, N.Y.

John Thurber Sr. plans to begin operations as a K & N Mobile Franchises franchisee on Feb. 1, 2009. Mr. Thurber has previous experience operating a franchise. Mr. Thurber owned a Subway® franchise before joining the K & N family.

Curtis Nelson, president of K & N Mobile Franchises, Inc. believes the company will sell at least 20 franchises by the end of this year, with an eventual capacity of at least 1,500 franchises nationwide. The company plans to work with several brokers around the country to market the franchise opportunity.

The franchise opportunity is essentially a mobile parts store, a large box van stocked with thousands of parts that can be sold and delivered directly to manufacturers and machinery repair facilities virtually anywhere in the world.

Franchising is the fastest and most economical way to enter new markets and grow a larger customer base, explained Nelson. "There is an enormous market potential worldwide for our products and services," Nelson said, noting that K & N's customer is any business that manufacturers or repairs any type of machinery.

K & N Electric, Inc., the parent company of K & N Mobile Franchises, has developed a proprietary software system for the mobile parts stores and licenses the franchise company to use it. This system practically eliminates the need for paperwork. The "Just-in-Time" inventory and supply chain management system automates the ordering process so that when parts are sold, they are automatically deducted from the mobile parts store's inventory. At the end of the day, the franchisee simply uploads the information to a computer and sends it directly to K & N Electric, which automatically ships back the parts to replenish the inventory.

K & N Electric keeps more than 5,000 different part numbers in its North Fort Worth warehouse, ready for immediate delivery to its mobile parts stores. It purchases the products in bulk from more than 75 different manufacturers. K & N Mobile Franchises supports its franchisees with intensive training, an automated order system with barcodes, a voice activated GPS system, prospect lists, and nearly 5,000 SKU's to get started.

"We really think that with our strong commitment to our franchisees and their customers, this really is the best franchise and career opportunity out there for someone looking for a mobile franchise," Nelson said. "We treat our franchisees like we treat our customers, and we want to be in business together and help each other make money for many years."

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