The Great Frame Up

Founded: 1971 Franchising since: 1975
In its national studies, The Great Frame Up found that the average American has 23 pieces of art on his or her walls and eight pieces waiting to be framed.

Started in Chicago, The Great Frame Up opened its first location in the Lincoln Park neighborhood in 1971 and started franchising four years later. Their primary customers are women from mid- to upper-income households.

Stores include a vertical viewing board for seeing the art as it would appear on a wall with various mat and frame selections. Full service options allow customers to frame pieces themselves or have staff members do it for them. The stores carry in-stock frames, mats, glass, framed art, unframed posters and prints, catalogs with thousands of prints and ready-made frames.

The Great Frame Up is part of Franchise Concepts Inc., a group that includes Ashley Avery's Collectibles, Deck The Walls and Framing & Art Centre.

221 First Executive Ave. St. Peters, Missouri 63376

Phone: (800)543-3325/ (636)498-8200

Franchisor is a privately-held company with 25 employee(s); 4 employee(s) in franchise department.

Franchise Growth

Year	U.S. Franchises	Canadian Franchises	Foreign Franchises	Company Owned
2009	138	0	0	0
2008	159	0	0	0
2007	174	0	0	0
2006	171	0	0	0
2005	174	0	0	0

Where Seeking Franchisees
In the U.S. Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North carolina, North dakota, New hampshire, New jersey, New mexico, Nevada, New york, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode island, South carolina, South dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West virginia, Wyoming

Exclusive territories available.
Territory size: 30,000+ population

Total investment: $138.5K-228.2K Franchise fee: $30K

Ongoing royalty fee: 6% Term of agreement: 10 years, renewable

Type of Financing Available

	In-House	Third Party
Franchise Fee	No	Yes
Startup Costs	No	Yes
Equipment	No	Yes
Inventory	No	Yes
Accounts Receivable	No	Yes
Payroll	No	Yes

Third-party financing source(s): Franchise Finance, PMC, CIT, Washington Mutual

Qualifications
Net worth requirement: $250K
Cash liquidity requirement: $60K
Business Experience:

• General business experience
• Marketing skills
• People skills; customer service skills

Operations

• 10% of all franchisees own more than one unit
• Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 2 - 4
• Absentee ownership of franchise is allowed. (95% of current franchisees are owner/operators)

Training

• Available at headquarters: 2 weeks
• At franchisee's location: 4 days
• Convention & trade shows : 3-5 days

Ongoing Support

• Newsletter
• Meetings
• Toll-free phone line
• Grand opening
• Internet
• Security/safety procedures
• Field operations/evaluations
• Purchasing cooperatives

Marketing Support

• Co-op advertising
• Ad slicks
• National media
• Regional advertising

Other marketing support

• Direct-mail program for local markets

Franchise 500® rank:
#325 (2009); #259 (2008); #270 (2007); #146 (2006); #200 (2005);

America's Top Global Franchises:
#112 (2006);