Kinko's, Stinko's, or FedEx Office

I woke this morning to the news that Kinko’s has been put to rest.

Yes Kinko’s, that store with which I hold the most drastic love-hate relationship.

You are the one that takes 15 minutes just to place a color copy order, that keeps your self-service area in shambles, that goofed my grandfather’s memorial program while our family suffered from grief, that took 20 minutes to download my four days of email. Yes, you, Kinko’s, make me curse your name, Stinko’s, as I leave your establishment.

But I also remember my first days in San Francisco, where you offered me a $6 an hour job and a family of friends: the Buddy-Holly-look-a-like-turned-SF-hipster; the Filipina “cousins” that shared a bed; the punk who invited bands to play shows during the graveyard shift; and my best show buddy and zine partner.

You introduced me to Jon Moritsugu, my fave filmmaker at the time; his wild and crazy wife, illustrator Amy Davis; Judd from the Real World; and Keith Knight. You helped filmmaker Celine Salazar Parrenas fax in her application to grad school. You showed your support at the cash register for community projects like Mikal’s Kittum’s zine, Subterranean Records, and Tim’s friend who had AIDS.

Most importantly, you introduced me to technology. You taught me Pagemaker and Photoshop and the basics of graphic design and computer maintenance. You opened doors to the d.i.y. community after I made my zine, Static, introducing this shy girl as a punk rock do-er. 

Oh Kinko’s, for that brief moment while my ideas were still being shaped, you were my everything. I loathe the corporatized/monetized/uniformed/canned music being you’ve become. Good bye Kinko’s. FedEx Office is merely a store, while you were a cultural center.

Comments

[John Tantillo "The Marketing Doctor"]

This is a good move on the part of FedEx. Ultimately, this is an excellent Marketing 101 example of how branding can sometimes work with a bottom line business decision. Technically this is a brand extension. There was no one but Kinkos in the marketplace who could offer FedEx what FedEx wanted, a bricks-and-mortar presence to connect with consumers –which is precisely what FedEx was always lacking. And from a strictly profit and loss perspective, buying Kinkos was cheaper than starting their own storefront print and ship centers.