Kinko's Founder Upset His Name To Be Dropped from Chain

Paul Orfalea, the founder of Kinko's, is hopping mad at FedEx's decision earlier this month to drop his Kinko's nickname from the stores in favor of FedEx Office. Following UPS's purchase of Mail-Boxes-Etc., FedEx bought out Kinko's from a private equity firm for $2.4 billion to access its small business customer base, who typically pay higher prices for shipping.

Orfalea gives the following response to the news:

"Friends, acquaintances and journalists have been asking me for comments on FedEx’s recent decision to drop the Kinko’s name from their copy and print centers. Although I sold my financial interest in Kinko’s several years ago, this news hit me hard. I have mixed emotions, because Kinko’s as I knew it has been gone for a very long time.

His next statement reminds me of the excitement that I listened to when I once asked a Kinko's ex-owner what running his store was like when Orfalea was there. What I heard for the next hour was about a very special corporate culture.

The signs may be coming off the building, but when you next meet a former Kinko’s coworker and he or she brightens up to tell you how it used to be, take note of the fire in their eyes. That’s the Kinko’s I’ll remember.

[Read Orfalea's full statement]