SIGN COMPANY TARGETS TACO BELL DEAL

A BRISBANE sign company is on the hunt for a $4 million deal with US restaurant chain Taco Bell, as the Mexican-style franchise plans to overhaul its menus nationally.

Signmanager director Dan McHugh says a recent foray into the US market has brought $1 million in sales this financial year, with clients also including Starbucks Coffee and casual dining chain Ruby Tuesday.

“How it works is that if one of the stores needs help with signs they call us, we have a database on hand with sign companies in the area, we find out who is the closest, we check their public liability insurance and request someone on site within 24 hours,” he says.

“We’re very much expecting growth this year, looking at a job with Taco Bell who are changing all their menus, which would be a 12 month job worth between $3.5 million and $4 million.

“The change bit is the hardest for them, they have to feel comfortable with us and they might roll the dice and decide to do things the traditional way, but even if we do a part of that roll out it will be significant for us.”

Signmanager currently has a list of 20 US customers it is targeting in FY11, while for the total business McHugh expects to record $18million revenue for FY10.

With local clients including Australia Post, Fosters, Pizza Hut, Nestle and Suncorp, McHugh says the US is more than a decade behind when it comes to sign management.

“It’s very old school the way they do it and even though they proclaim themselves as forerunners in business, in our industry they’re probably 10 to 15 years behind, but it’s starting to change.”