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Proposed merger: Mail Boxes Etc. and The UPS Store

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I have tagged these two articles as proposed for merger, because:

  • Mail Boxes Etc. is being rebranded as The UPS Store, and
  • The article for The UPS Store, in its current form, is a small stub.

--Ray Chason (talk) 17:43, 2 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Several of the old Mail Boxes Etc. franchisees have a lawsuit against UPS for violating their franchise agreements. This issue should be addressed in the article, and for that reason, Mail Boxes Etc. should remain a separate article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.57.182.178 (talk) 16:45, 2 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The two articles should remain separate, because the two are separate companies. As a brand name, Mail Boxes Etc. no longer exists in the US, Canada, and India; as a company, it exists outside the US/Canada/India and also is the franchisor for The UPS Store in the US and Canada. "UPS Sells Off MBE Brand outside US, Canada and India". Retrieved 2010-05-15. Eagle4000 (talk) 17:48, 10 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I tend to agree that the two should be linked but are completely separate as Mail Boxes Etc outside of the US, Canada and India are separately owned and still a thriving brand. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Brian G Wright (talk • contribs) 01:09, 20 July 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Topic Expansion

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There is very little here on the origins of the concept of MBE. Why did the founder think there was a market for non-USPS mailboxes? What happened that caused lawmakers now require the real name of the owner be obtained and recorded for law enforcement use? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Pfbonney (talk • contribs) 05:09, 18 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

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My name is Brandon. I am a member of the Public Relations group at Mail Boxes Etc., Inc., franchisor of The UPS Store brand. The following external link is an editorial (opinion) and does now provide balanced view of the topic: http://everyjoe.com/work/owners-call-the-ups-store-franchise-indentured-servitude-and-a-nightmare/. I request that it be removed. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 63.145.223.4 (talk) 21:55, 12 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

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This article looked like a repository for franchise directory websites. I removed a tone of link overkill but wanted to mention it so that others can keep an eye out.--CNMall41 (talk) 08:23, 2 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Edit Request

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NOTE: I’m proposing the following edits for FleishmanHillard on behalf of The UPS Store. I am a paid editor and aware of the COI guidelines. I’m submitting these edits with the aim of moving the page toward a more neutral and Wikipedia-appropriate state and providing sourcing where it is missing. Please let me know of any questions or comments as you review. Thanks for your time and consideration. Jon Gray (talk) 21:33, 26 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Lead section

  • First sentence in lead: Suggest removing the words “network” (to tone down any marketing language) and “retail shipping, postal, printing and” to avoid duplication as the company’s functions are covered later in the article. Also have provided secondary sourcing to validate claim of “world’s largest.” Revised and with new sourcing, the updated first sentence would read (in bold for quick reference):

The UPS Store is the world’s largest franchisor of business service centers.[1]

  • Second and third sentences in lead: Suggest removing both sentences – proposed revision below made for brevity and to remove non-neutral language. In place of second and third sentences, propose using the following (w/sourcing):

Currently, there are more than 5,000 UPS Store locations across the United States and Canada.[2]

__________

History

  • The majority of current history section lacks sourcing and specificity on timing for the most relevant events in the company’s history (UPS acquisition of Mail Boxes Etc. and rebranding to UPS Store). Details about locations being sold are likely unnecessary as well and also lack sourcing. Suggest replacing the existing history section with the condensed and sourced sentences below (in bold):

In March 2001, UPS acquired Mail Boxes Etc.,[3] which was founded in 1980 as an alternative to the post office.[4]

In February 2003, UPS rebranded more than 3,000 Mail Boxes Etc. locations as The UPS Store.[5]Each location is independently owned.[6]

__________

Locations and franchising

  • The entirety of this section reads more as information of interest to potential franchisees, not the average reader, and therefore likely isn’t of encyclopedic value. Moreover, phrasing of this section is salesy and non-neutral. Given these issues and the lack of sourcing for most claims, we propose removing this section altogether.

__________

Products and returns

  • The current section header is very specific – suggest replacing header with “Services” instead. Also, as the UPS Store provides services instead of products, revising this section’s title would be more accurate.
  • Suggest replacing existing sentence in this section with the following two sentences which include better sourcing, cuts down on non-neutral language and condenses description of services to most relevant points (proposed new copy in bold):

The UPS Store offers shipping, packaging, printing, shredding, notary services and postal services for individual consumers and small businesses.[7][8] [9] Franchise locations are typically found on or near military bases, hotels, colleges, shopping centers and convention centers.[10]

__________

Industry recognition

  • Suggest changing the name of this section to “Awards” to be more in line with similar sections across Wikipedia.
  • Suggest removing mentions of the USA Today and GI Jobs award, as well as the City Business Journals’ American Brand Excellence Award as neither award is independently notable.
  • However, Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise 500 list is independently notable. Thus, recommend replacing existing copy under this section to read as follows, which would remove non-independently notable awards and focus on recent Franchise 500 recognitions as we do not have validation for 30 years’ worth of the award (revised/suggested copy in bold):

In 2019 and 2020, The UPS Store was ranked fifth overall among the top franchise brands in Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise 500 list.[11] The company ranked third on the Franchise 500 list in 2021.[12]

__________

Hi Jon, thanks for your work on this, and your clear understanding of the guidelines. Cheers, AntiVan (talk) 09:40, 5 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]
@AntiVan: Much appreciated, thanks! Jon Gray (talk) 22:27, 5 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]


References

  1. ^ US Industry (Specialized) Report OD5561 Packing & Shipping Service Franchises (Report). IBISWorld. March 30, 2020. p. 30. Retrieved March 26, 2021. The UPS Store is the world's largest franchisor of retail shipping, postal, printing and business service centers. Headquartered in San Diego, it operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of United Parcel Service Inc.
  2. ^ "The UPS Store". Entrepreneur. Retrieved March 26, 2021. # of Units: 5,268 (as of 2020); Franchises are located throughout the United States and in Canada.
  3. ^ Herper, Matthew (March 5, 2001). "UPS Picks Up Mail Boxes Etc". Forbes. Retrieved March 26, 2021. The express carrier said today it is paying $191 million in an all-cash transaction for Mail Boxes Etc., a chain of 4,300 packing and shipping centers.
  4. ^ Apodaca, Patrice (August 28, 1990). "Post Office Alternative Changes Its Route : Franchising: Mail Boxes Coast to Coast has had a hard time making a profit, but selling its Long Island network has helped". Retrieved March 26, 2021. Mail Boxes Coast to Coast Inc. in Encino is the largest franchiser for Mail Boxes Etc., the San Diego-based company that has gained attention with its nationwide network of post office alternative stores and steady earnings gains. Since it was founded in 1980, Mail Boxes Etc. has grown to $25.7 million a year in revenues and about $1.5 million in net income. Mail Boxes Etc. stores provide the usual postal services, such as letter mailing and private box rentals, plus other office and shipping services.
  5. ^ "UPS to convert Mail Boxes Etc. into UPS Stores". Atlanta Business Journal. February 10, 2003. Retrieved March 26, 2021. United Parcel Service Inc. plans to convert 3,300 Mail Boxes Etc. (MBE) stores in the 48 contiguous United States into The UPS Stores.
  6. ^ Tash, Joe (July 23, 2019). "Independent Owners, Big Brand Drive UPS Store". NBC San Diego. Retrieved March 26, 2021. Under The UPS Store's business model, all of its locations are franchises, meaning they are owned by independent entrepreneurs, rather than by the company.
  7. ^ US Industry (Specialized) Report OD5561 Packing & Shipping Service Franchises (Report). IBISWorld. March 30, 2020. p. 30. Retrieved March 26, 2021. Franchisees of The UPS Store offer packing and shipping services alongside a variety of business solutions, including copy and print services, mailbox services, computer time rentals and more…
  8. ^ Bednarski, PJ (September 18, 2018). "'Beyond ShippING' Spots Capture The Excitement (Or Not) Of UPS Store". MediaPost. Retrieved March 26, 2021. UPS is calling it the "Beyond ShippING" campaign, with a spot in which actors rattle off all those other "ing" things -- printing, packing, shredding, notarizing, supplying, sizing, mailboxing, scanning and more -- that the 4,700 UPS Stores nationwide provide.
  9. ^ Olson, Elizabeth (September 19, 2012). "U.P.S. Bills Stores as Small-Business Solution". The New York Times. Retrieved March 26, 2021. a third of the customers of the 4,300 UPS Stores are small businesses — with 10 or fewer people or individuals — that accounted for 75 percent of overall revenue.
  10. ^ US Industry (Specialized) Report OD5561 Packing & Shipping Service Franchises (Report). IBISWorld. March 30, 2020. p. 30. Retrieved March 26, 2021. They are traditionally located in and around densely populated commercial areas, such as shopping centers, college campuses, military bases, convention centers, hotels and urban renewal areas.
  11. ^ Herold, Tracy (April 14, 2020). "The Best Franchise Brands of 2020". Entrepreneur. Retrieved March 26, 2021. We've crunched the numbers from our 2020 Franchise 500 list, identifying the 113 companies that performed best in their categories. Among them, you'll naturally find a lot of familiar names — companies that have dominated their categories for decades. Postal & Business Centers - The UPS Store. 2019 Franchise 500 Rank: 5
  12. ^ "2021 Franchise 500 Ranking". Entrepreneur. Retrieved March 26, 2021. #3 The UPS Store. Postal & Business Centers

Photo Change Request

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NOTE: I’m proposing the following photo change for FleishmanHillard on behalf of The UPS Store. I am a paid editor and aware of the COI guidelines. I recently submitted a new photo file to Wikimedia Commons on The UPS Store’s behalf (located here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:THE-UPS-STORE_Exterior-Storefront.jpg) in the hopes of having the photo currently used on this page exchanged for the new photo. Per the guidelines, I know editors with a COI may add/update article photos, which I’m happy to do, but first wanted to confirm I am clear to do so, or turn this over to another editor to handle. Please let me know how I should proceed. Thanks for your time and consideration. Jon Gray (talk) 02:09, 21 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

@Jon Gray: Done AntiVan (talk) 13:42, 21 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]
@AntiVan: Thank you! Jon Gray (talk) 15:39, 21 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Logo and Photo Update Request

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NOTE: I’m proposing the following photo change for FleishmanHillard on behalf of The UPS Store. I am a paid editor and aware of the COI guidelines. The UPS Store recently introduced a new logo and storefront, so I recently submitted images of both to Wikimedia Commons on The UPS Store’s behalf. We are hoping to have the photos currently used on this page exchanged for these new images:

New logo: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_UPS_Store_Logo_(New).jpg

Updated storefront: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1200x800_theUPSstore_Exterior-Storefront.jpg

Per the guidelines, I know editors with a COI may add/update article photos, which I’m happy to do, but first wanted to confirm I am clear to do so, or turn this over to another editor to handle. Please let me know how I should proceed. Thanks for your time and consideration! Jon Gray (talk) 22:16, 15 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

It appears that the storefront picture you listed matched the one in the article currently. And the logo picture is the same except the logo is before the words, and I have no objection to you changing that. Signed, I Am Chaos (talk) 23:30, 20 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Go ahead: I have reviewed these proposed changes and suggest that you go ahead and make the proposed changes to the page.
 Already done
Pinging @Jon Gray with my response Signed, I Am Chaos (talk) 23:30, 20 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]
@I Am Chaos: Thank you! Jon Gray (talk) 01:35, 21 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Franchises section

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The franchise section seems too specific for a Wikipedia article, and in addition, reads like an advertisement. Sethcampbell7293 (talk) 22:52, 22 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]

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