Andrew Mitchell said that while it was fair for Adare to set its own corporate goals, it must also strive to allow its franchisees to keep their independence.

His organisation represents all 163 franchisees and claims that three quarters of them support his view.

Kall Kwik franchisees are independent business people who own and manage their own businesses. They do not see their individual success as a small cog in a large machine, said Michael.

The Adare group bought Kall Kwik five years ago, setting in motion the merger of two of the high streets largest quickprint chains, Kall Kwik and Prontaprint.

In that time Adare also formed On Demand Communications to provide central support for both Kall Kwik and Prontaprint for everything other than marketing and operations.

All other functions, including technical support, national accounts, corporate sales, training, IT, finance, property, supplier negotiations, and franchise sales all come from one company serving both brands.

Kall Kwik said that its recent corporate revamp (PrintWeek, 29 January) was done with the involvement of the franchisees.

Story by Philip Chadwick