Shaw Capital Management Factoring: ImageXpres Joint Venture Closes Advertising Deal

http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/ImageXpres-Joint-Venture-Closes-Advertising-Deal-1418259.htm

SOURCE: ImageXpres Corp

Mar 28, 2011 09:00 ET

SmartKiosk Media Signs Sales Agreement With Financial Services Firm

ATLANTA, GA–(Marketwire – March 28, 2011) - SmartKiosk Media, LLC(PINKSHEETS: IMJX), a private multimedia advertising company, today announced that it has signed a two-year sales agreement withCredSystems LLC, for selling advertising for the Free Printze™ direct mail program. CredSystems is wholly-owned by a large Texas-based financial solutions firm with over sixty-three franchises throughout the United States.

SmartKiosk Media was formed in Nevada in 2010 to be the primary provider of Free Printze™advertising sales to US businesses. ImageXpres Corporation, a New York-based digital printing and imaging corporation, has a 50% ownership interest in SmartKiosk Media, and is the majority investor. ImageXpres currently trades on the Pink-OTC Markets under the symbol “IMJX.”

The agreement allows CredSystems to offer advertising services to its existing client base, consisting of small- and medium-sized companies. CredSystems and its parent company provide financial and business consulting services designed to spur business growth, including credit building, equipment financing, and invoice factoring. They will now offer Advertising services in addition to their other financial services, targeting their client base of 3,000, for a fee. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Wayne B. Hunt, Managing Member of SmartKiosk Media, stated, “The actual prints are fantastic. While ImageXpres has been working to develop the Free Printze™ commercial website, and refine the print-on-demand fulfillment process, we have identified the sales process and begun taking in advertising revenues, from small and medium-sized businesses. By signing this deal with CredSystems, we have expanded our reach to national companies immediately, with the potential to get in front of thousands of businesses in 2011, and increase sales dramatically.”

SmartKiosk Media and ImageXpres Corp. have scheduled a training seminar in April, in order to educate the CredSystems franchisees on the Free Printze™ advertising products, including market, pricing, artwork, and sales process. CredSystems will be able to ask questions and get trained, so that each franchisee can begin offering advertising to its clients in May 2011.

Recent market data reveals that US small businesses with $1M in annual revenues will spend approximately $44,000 per year, on average, in marketing and advertising, including online advertising. With over 3,000 clients and growing, Cred Systems will now have access to roughly $132M in current client advertising sales.

Hunt states further, “We look at Cred Systems as a way to sell to thousands of businesses who are looking to reach a new group of customers, who are intrigued by our product. While contacting thousands of new businesses monthly, CredSystems has access to an additional $500 million in client advertising revenue market base annually, which would catapult us onto the national advertising scene.”

John Zankowski, President of ImageXpres, and a Managing Director of SmartKiosk Media, stated, “This agreement with CredSystems is a major step forward for the SmartKiosk Media JV, and will enable us to take Free Printze™ advertising services to the next level.”

About SmartKiosk Media, LLC:

SmartKiosk Media, LLC is a digital advertising media company, headquartered in Tucker, GA. The company’s website is www.smartkioskmedia.com.
Ph: (678) 534-3799

About ImageXpres Corporation:

ImageXpres is a digital imaging and printing company, headquartered in Rochester, NY. ImageXpres develops imaging systems solutions for commercial printing, consumer photo, health and business communications market segments. The Company’s website is www.imagexpres.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

Statements in this press release about the company’s future expectations, including the rate of growth of the Company’s revenues derived from sales of its safety and security products, and all other statements in this release other than historical facts, are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27 A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21 E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

It is important to note that actual results and ultimate corporate actions could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements based on such factors as changes in consumer demand, satisfaction or desire for our products for a variety of reasons. Such “forward-looking statements” are subject to risks and uncertainties set forth from time to time in the company’s reports and financial statements.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

John S. Zankowski
President
ImageXpres Corporation
info@imagexpres.com
ph: (585) 292-5177

Shaw Capital Management Factoring: Franchisees still contending with a lack of financing

A dearth of available capital, despite the improving economy, is hampering franchise growth amid increased business demand, according to the International Franchise Association.

The industry trade group is part of a coalition, including the Consumer Bankers Association and commercial lender CIT Group, hosting the Small Business Lending Summit on April 7 at the Capital Hilton Hotel in the District. The event aims to bridge the disconnect through sessions highlighting the low-risk profile of franchising, best practices in loan underwriting and legislative policies that can aid small businesses.

Borrowers are having a hard time securing home equity loans, a traditional source of funding for franchisees,­ or putting up commercial assets as collateral in the face of depressed real estate values. Meanwhile, lenders say there is a paucity of credit-worthy applicants.

“Make no mistake about it, we have tightened up our standards on the bank side because of the economic downturn,” said Richard Hunt, president of the Consumer Bankers Association, who said his members are eager to find ways at the summit to support franchisees. “We want to make loans . . . people are just not as credit worthy as they were three years ago.”

John Reynolds, president of the IFA Educational Foundation, suggests lenders are often unaware of the attributes of franchising — performance history, scalability, brand strength — that mitigate risks and increase loan success rates.

“Banks are still operating in a highly risk averse climate, and anything that can be done to show them how many franchise businesses represent a lower risk profile will be good for . . . lenders, franchisers and franchisees,” he said.

A report released last month by FRANdata, an Arlington-based research company, estimated that available credit may be 20 percent below the $10.4 billion in new capital needed to meet the forecasted demand for franchise operations this year. That margin is an improvement from the 23 percent gap in 2010, a result, in part, to the increase in Small Business Administration loan guarantees.

“If we can unlock this credit freeze and get lending flowing to franchise businesses, we can have the same kind of robust recovery we’ve had leading out of past recessions,” said Reynolds.

Even with the bleak lending outlook, PricewaterhouseCoopers anticipates the addition of 19,079 franchise units this year, creating 194,000 new jobs and generating $33.3 billion in economic output — the gross value of the goods and services a business produces. The consulting firm attributes the projected growth largely to the $858 billion tax and unemployment benefits package, with its payroll tax rate cut.

Judging by the thousands of attendees registered for this past weekend’s annual International Franchise Expo at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Thomas Portesy, president of MFV Expositions, producers of the show, is convinced the industry is on an upswing. More than 200 exhibitors signed up for the show, up from 180 the previous year.

Of the exhibitors on display, more than 20 provided or advised on financing options. Portesy noted, however, “franchisers have solved some of the problems themselves: They’re doing some in-house financing, working with equipment manufacturers to lower costs.”

Edible Arrangements, for instance, offers a lease-to-buy program that only asks for 30 percent of start-up costs, while Dunkin Donuts has reduced some of its royalty fees to give franchisees a leg up.

Yogen Fruz, an exhibitor at the expo, does not provide seed money, but will guide entrepreneurs in finding funding. John Kane, a master franchiser for the Ontario-based frozen yogurt chain, said most franchisees he encounters are coming to the table with cash. Rustling up that kind of financing can be prohibitive for some small businesses, but Kane said it has not slowed the expansion of Yogen Fruz, which executed 14 franchise contracts last year.

One of those agreements will result in the fall opening of the first Yogen Fruz stores in Maryland, located in Westfield Annapolis Mall and Towson Town Center. Another will add two more locations in the District later this year. All told, the company has 1,200 locations in 25 countries, most of which are franchises.

Southern-style eatery Bojangles, another exhibitor at the expo, has recorded an annual 10 percent growth in units for the past three years, bringing its total franchise and company-owned stores to nearly 500. Just last week, the Charlotte, N.C., company turned on the lights at its first franchise restaurant in the District at Union Station. Five others are in Prince George’s County.

Eric Newman, executive vice president of Bojangles, said the company is focused on putting down roots in Northern Virginia, where it currently has no stores. There has been great interest from prospective franchisees, who he said have aggressively pursued the business format.

That’s exactly the kind of verve Kane believes will continue to drive the expansion of Yogen Fruz. People are eager to sign onto proven business models, he said. The trouble is, “there still hasn’t been the kind of lending that really spurred franchise growth in the past.”

douglasd@washpost.com