Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Canada Acquires Thrifty Edmonton Franchise; Locations in Eight Major Canadian Cities Now Operated Corporately
TORONTO, Sept. 10 -- Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc. announced today that its subsidiary, Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Canada Inc. (DTAG Canada) has acquired four Edmonton-area Thrifty Car Rental franchise operations, including the in-terminal location at Edmonton International Airport. DTAG Canada will now operate these locations as corporate stores.
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The locations were acquired from the Fleming family, which over a period of 26 years built and expanded the business into a thriving airport operation and three local market stores.
"The Edmonton acquisition represents a major step in the DTAG Canada corporate strategy to own and operate the airport and principal city locations in the eight major car rental markets in Canada," Yves Boyer, President DTAG Canada, said. "With both brands operating corporately in Calgary, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax, plus our Thrifty operation in Vancouver, the purchase of Edmonton was the next logical step."
Following the Edmonton deal, approximately 70 percent of DTAG Canada revenues will now flow through corporate locations.
"Operating the major airport and city locations as corporate stores enables Dollar Thrifty to achieve strong levels of consistency and quality of service," Boyer said. "This does not mean we are moving away from a franchise model. We will continue to franchise aggressively and we believe that the strength of our corporate operation is a strong selling point for potential franchisees in smaller markets. As the system as a whole gets stronger, so does the position of current franchisees and the prospects for future members of the Dollar Thrifty family."
DTAG Canada is a major player in the Canadian car rental market. The former Thrifty Canada, Ltd. purchased the master franchise rights to the Dollar brand in Canada in January of 2003, and the company has since enjoyed significant market share growth. With the Dollar brand operating in-terminal in Toronto, Montreal, Halifax, Ottawa and Winnipeg, and Thrifty having presence at all major airports, consumers have more choice than ever before in the rental car value category.
Currently, Dollar Thrifty ranks number five in the Canadian market, with airport market share growing at record levels.
Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc., a Fortune 1000 Company, is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and has approximately 6,000 worldwide employees. Focused on being the low-cost provider in the car rental industry, the company's brands, Dollar Rent A Car and Thrifty Car Rental, serve value- conscious travelers in more than 70 countries. With operations at most major airports, Dollar and Thrifty have approximately 800 corporate and franchised locations in the United States and Canada. Additional information can be found by visiting www.dtag.com .
Some of the statements contained in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Although Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc. believes such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and certain factors could cause results to differ materially from current expectations. These factors include: price and product competition; economic and competitive conditions in markets and countries where the companies' customers reside and where the companies and their franchisees operate; airline travel patterns; changes in capital availability or cost; costs and other terms related to the acquisition and disposition of automobiles; costs of conducting business and changes in structure or operations; and certain regulatory and environmental matters. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties, among others, materialize, actual results could vary from those estimated, anticipated or projected. Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc. undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results over time.
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