Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Expands Dual Franchise Operations
Franchisees in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Des Moines, Iowa, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Now Own and Operate Both Brands
TULSA, Okla., Sept. 18 -- Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc. today announced that franchisees in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Des Moines, Iowa, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, have opened new Dollar Rent A Car locations, in addition to their separate Thrifty Car Rental operations. Bob Gardill is the owner of the Harrisburg operation, Harvey Flacks owns the Des Moines location and Jeff Schoepfel owns the Myrtle Beach operation. The Des Moines and Myrtle Beach Dollar and Thrifty operations are located in-terminal in the respective airports, while the Harrisburg operation is located off-airport.
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As part of a recently implemented program, franchisees of both the Dollar Rent A Car and Thrifty Car Rental brands may own and operate both brands in a single market in which the company has decided not to operate corporately. Similar to Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group's own corporate stores, the dual franchise operations will have the ability to share back-office functions, maintenance and fleet between the two brands. All Thrifty Car Rental and Dollar Rent A Car marketing and sales processes and customer "touch points" will be kept separate, and served by brand-specific Thrifty and Dollar staff, offering consumers the great value they have come to expect.
"We are extremely pleased to have Bob Gardill, Harvey Flacks and Jeff Schoepfel as new members of the Dollar system," Mario Nargi, Dollar Rent A Car Vice President, Franchise Operations, said. "Their Thrifty Car Rental expertise will allow them to quickly and efficiently offer the Dollar brand to customers in their respective areas."
A veteran of the car rental business, Harvey Flacks has been a Thrifty franchisee for over 21 years and, in addition to the Des Moines location, owns Thrifty locations in Lincoln, Omaha, Kansas City and Wichita. "We consider the dual franchise operation to be an excellent growth opportunity," Flacks said. "In addition to achieving operating synergies, we believe this provides us with an excellent opportunity to capture market share. We are very pleased with the addition of our Dollar operation and look forward to adding additional Dollar locations in the future."
Bob Gardill, owner of the Harrisburg operation, has been a Thrifty franchisee for several years. "We are truly committed to this dual franchise operation," Gardill said. "For franchisees, Thrifty Car Rental and Dollar Rent A Car are the two strongest brand names in the rental car business.
"I've been a Thrifty franchisee for over 10 years," Jeff Schoepfel, owner of the Myrtle Beach operation, said. "In my opinion, the opportunity to operate both Dollar and Thrifty locations is exceptional. There are only eight national car rental brands today and we are proud to offer both the Dollar and the Thrifty brand to our customers."
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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