..........MEINEKE IN CHINA............: January 2011

The relentless rain beat like a

drum breaking the silence of the night as our car

maneuvered cautiously through the treacherous

streets in downtown Chengdu, China on our way

to meet our new Master Franchisees at the

training center. The windshield wipers kept time

like an aged pentameter, and the rhythmic swaying

mesmerized both Meineke Trainer George

Alexiou and myself into thinking we were back in

Charlotte, North Carolina.

Looking out the window as we passed

the skyscrapers intermingled with

ancient temples, one could not help

but to be awestruck by the beauty

and serenity of this city in the mist. A

peace existed here in a world where

technology and tradition coexisted in complete

harmony, each feeding off one another for survival.

The great songwriter and poet of our generation,

Bob Dylan, once said that the “Times are a

Changing,” and he could not have been more

accurate. This 900 pound gorilla, the most populated

country in the world, had sold over 25 million

cars domestically in 2010, up 15% from the

previous year. It’s rather comical to imagine in

2002 there were less than a few million cars in all

of China and the bicycle was the most popular

transportation mode. Together with Master

Franchisor, Mr. Lin, Meineke broke ground in

Chengdu, laying the foundation for what could

potentially become our largest worldwide market.

Unlike the other well known cities located in the

North such as Beijing and Shanghai, Chengdu is

situated directly in the middle of the country and

shares the same latitude as Charlotte, North

Carolina. Chengdu is considered a small city, a

third tier city with only 14 million inhabitants and

roughly 5 million cars. The city planners back in

2000 carefully separated the city into grids with

the technology sector to the West and the industrial

sector to the East. Although Chengdu is

considered one of the technology hubs for China,

they were insistent on keeping the serenity and

beauty of the land their top priority as the Giant

Panda Bear sanctuary sits just outside the boundary

Of the city limits.

The first Meineke center is scheduled to be open

in late January and the second soon to follow. Mr.

Lin, our Master Franchise, partnered with a local

University in Chengdu and we provided the training

curriculum along with the trainers. By doing

this, we bolster the potential success of our

operation in China. The most difficult aspect about

franchising in Asia is recruiting skilled employees

and training them to follow a system.

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