AAMCO Experiences Record Growth in Fourth Quarter; Prepares for Strong 2011

Despite a persistent recession, AAMCO, an automotive repair franchise with over 800 service centers in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, has increased its fourth quarter year over year revenues from the sale of new and existing centers by over 35 percent, wrapping up yet another strong year for the franchise. In addition to continuing its upward trend in franchise development, Entrepreneur Magazine ranked AAMCO as the No. 1 franchise opportunity in transmission repair services and in the top 12 percent of all 500 franchise opportunities the magazine ranks. In the past few years, the brand has expanded its total car care service offering to supplement its existing expertise in transmission repair, further strengthening and accelerating its position as a leader in automotive repair franchising.

“We’re wrapping up a strong year of growth for AAMCO and preparing for an even bigger year in 2011,” said AAMCO CEO Marc Graham. “We saw significant sales increases in our total care car services yet again in 2010 and expect that trend to continue this year.”

Spearheading AAMCO’s growth is the brand’s recently appointed vice president of sales and development, Curt Hapward. As a leader on the AAMCO team, Hapward brings a packed resume and proven track record of success. Before moving to AAMCO, he held various positions such as Vice President at Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, President at DCAP Management Corp., and Vice President of Development at Sylvan Learning. A Certified Franchise Executive (CFE), Hapward will bring his keen leadership skills and successful history of development to maximize AAMCO’s expansion in the growing $208 billion car care industry.

“I see incredible opportunities for the AAMCO brand for new development in underpenetrated markets across the U.S. and abroad” said Hapward. “In the last quarter, we saw an upward trend in revenue resulting from the sale of new and existing franchise centers. I expect this trend to continue in 2011 and beyond.”

Continuing the domination of its category, AAMCO was once again recognized by Entrepreneur Magazine as the No. 1 transmission repair franchise and places within the top 12 percent of all opportunities ranked by the magazine. Entrepreneur has conducted the Franchise 500 survey for 32 years and determines rankings based on financial strength and stability, growth rate, size of system, years in business and franchising and percentage of unit closings. AAMCO has ranked No. 1 in the transmission repair category for 28 out of the last 30 years.

“It’s a true honor to be ranked in the Franchise 500,” said Graham, “but don’t think it means we’re going to slow down. We want to continue our expansion and move higher in the list in 2011.”

In addition to ranking in the Entrepreneur 500, AAMCO was recognized as one of the Top 50 franchises for veterans by VetFran, a franchise opportunities portal of the International Franchise Association. Qualifying veterans can receive up to $8,000 off the standard initial franchise fee from AAMCO. AAMCO was also recently highlighted as one of the “Top 20 Franchises to Start,” by Forbes.com.

AAMCO plans to carry its momentum from a strong fourth quarter into 2011 with an aggressive, targeted growth strategy. Plans for future growth center on key markets including New York, Detroit, California, Chicago, Atlanta and Texas.

ABOUT AAMCO

AAMCO is the world’s largest chain of transmission specialists and one of the leaders in total car care services. The AAMCO brand has approximately 900 automotive centers throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Established in 1962, AAMCO centers are proud to have served more than 35 million drivers. Today, under the leadership of CEO and President Marc Graham, AAMCO has laid out a comprehensive strategy focused on strengthening current franchisee profitability and implementing targeted growth in areas ripe for expansion of the AAMCO brand. For more information, visit www.aamco.com.