Neil Kent, an Apple fan for three decades, is preparing for the upcoming school season at his Metro Atlanta Experimac location in Sandy Springs. His store specializes in all Apple products, including upgrades, sales of used devices and repairs.
Kent said that all the great things that ever happened to him in life were somehow connected to Apple and its products, so that was the draw of the franchise brand for him: getting to own his very own Apple store. The franchisee grew up in Sunnyvale, California, just a mile from the Apple headquarters in Palo Alto. The company, according to Kent, was behind many of his key life moments, from making the transition to the white-collar world in the late 1980s while selling computer peripherals and meeting his wife and stepson.
After working for Apple to close to five years, Kent took an event management job in San Francisco, but the long commute took up too much of his family time. He then relocated to Atlanta and began planning to open his own business. However, when he learned about a small Apple-themed computer shop
in West Palm Beach, Florida, that was looking to franchise, he couldn't resist the lure of working with Apple products once again. He took the plunge and joined the
Experimac franchise businessin November of 2014, and since then, the chain has grown to five locations in Georgia and 50 across the nation.
The brand's success, notes Kent, is because Apple products are built to last. The Sandy Springs franchise said he regularly works with MacBooks that are more than five years old. Price is another high point in this
franchise opportunity,as Kent pointed out that his customers are often amazed at how much they can save by buying high-ticket items such as iPads or MacBooks used.
The back-to-school season is a busy one for Kent, and last August, his store actually sold out of its entire inventory.
According to Kent, families can save anywhere from $400 to $1,000 on their computer when they buy from his store, and he wants parents to know his location and employees are there for them this school season and beyond.Experimax, established in 2014, focuses on the repair, upgrade and used sales of Apple devices. This franchise has since grown to 50 locations and is currently looking for franchisees in target markets including Fort Worth, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; and Chicago, Illinois. The franchise fee is $49,500, and the total investment ranges from $130,000 to $145,000.
