Valpak vs Around Town Community Magazine Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Valpak vs Around Town Community Magazine including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.

Start-Up Costs and Fees
 
Valpak Franchise
Around Town Community Magazine Franchise
Investment $32,500 - And Up$37,600 - $54,800
Franchise Fee $15,000 - $17,500$25,000
Royalty Fee 05%
Advertising Fee --
Year Founded 19681996
Year Franchised 19882003
Term Of Agreement 10 years5 years
Term Of Agreement 10 years5 years
Renewal Fee --


Business Experience Requirements
 
Valpak Franchise
Around Town Community Magazine Franchise
Experience
  • General business experience
  • Sales and management skills
    		• -

    Financing Options
     
    Valpak Franchise
    Around Town Community Magazine Franchise
      In-House/3rd PartyIn-House/3rd Party
    Franchise Fees No/YesNo/No
    Start-up Costs No/YesNo/No
    Equipment No/YesNo/No
    Inventory No/YesNo/No
    Receivables No/YesNo/No
    Payroll No/YesNo/No

    Training & Support
     
    Valpak Franchise
    Around Town Community Magazine Franchise
    Training On-The-Job Training: 44 hours Classroom Training: 67 hours -
    Support Purchasing Co-ops Newsletter Meetings/Conventions Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Online Support Security/Safety Procedures Field Operations Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet PlatformMeetings, Internet, Field operations/evaluations
    Marketing Co-op Advertising Ad Templates Social media SEO Website development Email marketing Loyalty program/app-
    Operations Franchise can be run from home.

    5% of all franchisees own more than one unit

    Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 2

    Absentee ownership of franchise is allowed. (98% of current franchisees are owner/operators)

    		 Franchise can be run from home.

    100% of all franchisees own more than one unit

    Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 2

    Absentee ownership of franchise is allowed. (100% of current franchisees are owner/operators)

    Expansion Plans
     
    Valpak Franchise
    Around Town Community Magazine Franchise
    US Expansion YesYes
    Canada Expansion NoNo
    International Expansion YesNo

    Company Overviews

    About Valpak

    Terry Loebal founded Valpak Direct Marketing Systems Inc. in 1968. Based in Largo, Florida, the company started franchising in 1988 and has a network of field offices throughout the United States and internationally.

    Valpak is the full-service marketing agency 35,000 businesses trust with their advertising. For more than 50 years, Valpak has supported local businesses with innovative marketing services and introduced millions of consumers to exciting local offers and opportunities. Our Blue Envelope of savings mails to more than 38 million demographically targeted households nationwide and our digital platforms host approximately 8.5 million daily unique visitors, 61% from mobile.

    Valpak has been a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc. since 1991. Valpak franchisees sell co-op advertising space in direct mail packets to local businesses. The company has co-branding relationships with News America, Catalina Marketing, Yahoo! and others.

    Veteran Incentives  Franchise and training fees waived; territory fee waived for dormant territories.

    About Around Town Community Magazine

    Around Town Community Magazine, Inc. ("Around Town") began franchise operations in September 2002 in Woodstock, Georgia. Around Town franchises niche community magazines, each has a goal of "strengthening communities."Around Town was founded by Gina Carr and Don Kyle. Gina has a BA from Georgia Tech in Industrial Engineering and an MBA from Harvard. Don has a BS in Accounting from Florida State University and also is a CPA. Together they started The TowneLaker magazine in June 1996 and Sixes Living magazine in June 2000. After many years of practice, they decided to franchise the niche community magazine concept through Around Town Community Magazine, Inc.