Carl Gerhardt’s story is not unlike the stories of a lot of company
leaders in Michigan. Facing the double-barrel assault of a shrinking economy and a stagnant industry, he still has to grow his business and produce profits. For Gerhardt, that means figuring out
ways to grow Allegra Network LLC in the consolidating print and
graphic communications industry, where growth opportunities are
far from plentiful. “We’re not in an industry that has a lot of natural growth in it,” says Gerhardt, president and CEO of Allegra.
“Second to that, we’re a fairly mature franchise. We’ve been
around for about 25 years. In an area like that, your challenges are
a bit different than if you’re in a high-growth industry and starting
out with a new franchise concept.” For Allegra’s leaders, seeking
growth opportunities has meant taking a creative approach to
external expansion. Since becoming the company’s president in
2004, Gerhardt has helped spur initiatives aimed at finding new
franchisees and new companies for prospective franchisees to
buy.
To make it happen, Gerhardt and his leadership team have kept
close contact with what is happening at the ground level, keeping
franchisees and employees on the front lines abreast of the company’s direction and relying on information and feedback from the
people who have direct contact with Allegra’s customers.
It’s an approach that has grown Allegra from $264 million in revenue in 2004 to $371 million last year, a rise of about 40 percent in
four years — including the major acquisition of Bradenton, Fla.-based Signs Now Corp. in 2005, which allowed Allegra to add sign-making to its array of services.
