FedEx Office
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Printing, shipping, retail |
| Predecessor | Kinko's |
| Founded | 1970 |
| Founder | Paul Orfalea |
| Headquarters | Plano , United States |
Area served | United States (previously international) |
Key people | Brian Phillips (CEO as of 2008) |
| Products | Printing, copying, shipping, marketing, office support solutions |
| Parent | FedEx |
| Website | www |
FedEx Office Print & Ship Services Inc. (operating under the name FedEx Office; previously known as FedEx Kinko's and Kinko's) is a U.S.-based retail chain that provides FedEx Express and FedEx Ground shipping services, alongside copying, printing, marketing, and office support solutions. In contrast to its franchised rival, the UPS Store, every FedEx Office outlet is owned and managed directly by the corporation.
History
The business was established in 1970 by entrepreneur Paul Orfalea, who earned the nickname "Kinko" due to his distinctive curly hair. The enterprise originated with a sidewalk copy machine near the University of California, Santa Barbara. In 1997, Orfalea sold a significant portion of the company to Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CDR), an investment firm, and departed from the company in 2000 amid disagreements. Initially organized as loosely affiliated partnerships for each individual store, by 1997 the company had shifted to a centralized S corporation model to enhance operational efficiency and facilitate investor oversight.
Kinko's was originally based in Ventura, California, before relocating its headquarters to Dallas, Texas in 2002. FedEx purchased Kinko's in 2004 for $2.4 billion and rebranded it as FedEx Kinko's Office and Print Centers. The brand name was simplified to FedEx Office in 2008 to better reflect FedEx’s overall business direction. That same year, Brian Phillips took over as CEO from Ken May. The company focuses mainly on serving small businesses and home office customers through roughly 2,200 corporate-owned stores.
Generating annual revenues exceeding $2 billion, FedEx Office ranks as the seventh-largest printing enterprise across North America. Its primary competitors include The UPS Store, Office Depot/OfficeMax, Staples, AlphaGraphics, Sir Speedy, and Vistaprint.
Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Kinko's expanded overseas into countries such as Kuwait, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates. Nevertheless, due to insufficient demand, it withdrew from Australia, Mexico, and the Netherlands by late 2008 and exited markets like China, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom during the Great Recession period. Konica Minolta acquired operations in Japan and South Korea.
In July 2017, after operating for 32 years in Canada, FedEx shut down its 24 Canadian retail locations along with its manufacturing facility but continued to offer shipping services within Canada. In March 2018, FedEx Office revealed plans to establish 500 stores inside Walmart outlets across the United States as part of expanding its retail presence.
On April 5, 2023, FedEx announced a restructuring initiative aimed at consolidating its various operating entities—including FedEx Office—into a single corporate framework intended to enhance operational effectiveness. This unification process reached near completion by June 2024.
External links
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- FedEx
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- American companies established in 1970
- 2004 mergers and acquisitions
- Companies based in Plano, Texas
- Printing companies of the United States
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- Companies of the United States by year of establishment