Demand for Quality Early Childhood Education Drives Consistent Franchise Expansion ACWORTH, Ga., Nov. 19
ACWORTH, Ga., Nov. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Primrose Schools, the nation's
leader in high quality educational child care, announced today that it has
recruited Darin Harris, a respected industry veteran with an extensive career
in franchise executive management for well-known, national brands, to serve as
the company's Chief Operating Officer. The announcement comes just three
months before the growing national franchise opens the doors to its milestone
200th school.
"Darin brings extensive franchise management skills and experience to the
company, but most importantly, he shares a passion for education and Primrose
values," said Jo Kirchner, President and CEO of Primrose Schools. "He is a
true business professional whose character and leadership skills are an
outstanding fit for our unique Primrose culture. Despite a challenging
economic climate, we are extremely fortunate that our equity partner, Roark
Capital, is committed to investing in our infrastructure to support our
growing system for the future."
The addition of the COO position follows the news earlier this year that
Primrose had entered into a strategic equity partnership with Roark Capital
Group, an Atlanta-based private equity firm. Roark has invested capital in
resources to support management's plans for the continued growth of the
system. As the company prepares to open its 200th school in January, 2009,
Primrose also anticipates the building and piloting of an urban model
prototype in Midtown, Atlanta to respond to the resurgence of urban living for
families across America.
Before joining Primrose, Harris served as Senior Vice President, Franchise
Development for Arby's, where he was accountable for revitalizing Arby's
franchise growth and leading global development strategy for international,
franchise and nontraditional development. He also served as Division Sales
Manager for Pizza Hut; National Sales and Marketing Manager for Tyson Foods,
School Foodservice Division; Vice President of Franchise Development for Orion
Food Systems; and Vice President, Franchise and Corporate Development for
Captain D's Seafood.
Harris also has the unique perspective of being a franchise owner, having
owned and managed two companies that operated eight Papa John's Pizza
restaurants in Mississippi and three Qdoba Mexican Grill units in Kansas,
employing over 350 people. He also gained strong team-building skills while
pitching professional baseball in Italy for a Series A Championship team.
At Primrose, Harris will manage Franchising & Compliance, Franchise
Finance, Real Estate & Development and Franchise Recruitment/Marketing.
Additionally, he will help oversee the development of the nontraditional,
Primrose urban model pilot school.
"I am honored to be joining Primrose Schools at such an exciting time for
the company," Harris said. "I am joining a team made up of some of the most
passionate and talented individuals in franchising, and my goal is to work
with them to continue the company's franchise growth, while ensuring that we
continue to provide a high quality experience for the children, families and
staff of Primrose Schools."
Meanwhile, Kirchner is looking forward to spending more time focused on
enhancing the Primrose education and business model, strengthening competitive
differentiation and promoting Primrose brand leadership across the country, as
well as spending more time communicating and building relationships with
franchise owners and developing new business partnerships.
Primrose currently is identifying additional communities around the
country which face a significant demand for premium educational child care.
The company is targeting several new markets around the country for franchise
expansion, including Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Baltimore.
About Primrose Schools
Founded in 1982, Primrose Schools is the country's leader in early
childhood education. Primrose Schools' foundation is based on providing
quality, early education and child care services with a balance of learning,
character development and play. Developed by and taught exclusively at
Primrose Schools, the school's Balanced Learning(R) curriculum dynamically
blends child-initiated play and teacher-guided instruction. The company's
success, fueled by parents' demand for quality child care, is sustained by
individual school owners and teachers.
Primrose Schools has achieved accreditation status from the Commission on
International and Trans-Regional Accreditation (CITA), which is managed by two
participating regional commissions: Southern Council on Accreditation and
School Improvement (SACS CASI) and North Central Commission on Accreditation
and School Improvement (NCA CASI). Although these institutions have been
evaluating schools and colleges for more than 100 years, Primrose was the
first educational preschool in the United States to achieve this award.
Primrose Schools currently operates more than 195 schools in 16 states.
The excellent reputation that Primrose Schools has enjoyed for over 25 years
has allowed its growth as a franchising company to continue and flourish. For
information about enrolling your child in a Primrose School, visit:
www.primroseschools.com. For franchise opportunities, contact Kim Musso,
Director of Franchise Recruitment, 1-800-745-0677, kmusso@primroseschools.com.
SOURCE Primrose Schools
