FedEx Corp. plans to stop using the Kinko’s name on its copy and office service stores.
The company said it will change the name of its FedEx Kinko’s stores to FedEx Office over the next several years.
“The FedEx Office name better describes the wide range of services available at its retail centers and takes full advantage of the FedEx brand long recognized for excellent customer service, quality and reliability,” says spokesman Jess Bunn.
[via Associated Press]
I worked at a Kinko’s when I was in college. It used to be a laid back work environment, allowing us to dress, well like college students do (Not Young Republicans). Then the corporatization of Kinko’s dawned. Probably the copyright case that sent one Kinko’s up in flames (Oh, thanks head office for the defense fund that you never used to defend franchises.), was the turning point. Got to find another revenue stream. We had to wear button downs, ties, etc… The slackers revolted and fled. Now, Kinkos became a career, much like McDonalds, and yes, the quality went straight downhill. Why the hell would you ask for a deadline/pickup time for a job, when you know damn well that the undereducated employees were not going to get it done on time? I used to love Kinkos, but the place sucks so bad now. I would venture to guess that I spent more time and money fixing the computers that I wanted to print a simple .pdf file out on; jobs that were late, thus making me late for meetings; I even took them there with a 24 hour lead time to make sure that they were done, but they could not even bind four simple items in that time. I would hope that by removing the last vestiges of a brand that went to shit, might actually work in FedEx favor. Who knows. Now that I do everything by hand, I may never know.
Sorry for the rant, but I am saddened to see such a great brand go down like a junkie friend that you gave one to many chances to.
This is a good move on the part of FedEx. My guess is that FedEx knew from the start that it was only a matter of time before the Kinkos name was no more –keeping the Kinkos name for a while but adding the FedEx name probably served to keep the identity of the Kinkos business in the target market’s head while injecting some FedEx brand strength for the short haul before the brand transition was complete. Since FedEx was doing something entirely different here (operating a bricks-and-mortar store) it needed time to get its target market used to this concept.