FRANCHISE gold 200.

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To Sylvan KEE Systems. Sylvan Learning Systems

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FRANCHISE gold 200.

Sylvan Learning Centers

Earns Top Honors

"Knowledge is power," Francis Bacon said some 400 years ago.

In today's global marketplace where professionals earn what they know and a country's brain trust is its most precious commodity, his words were never truer.

It seems fitting, then, that Sylvan Learning Centers--a franchise devoted to education--should receive top honors in this year's Franchise Gold 200 rankings.

Sylvan bested franchises in its own consumer services category as well as restaurants, commercial and residential cleaning and services, printing and mailing, consumer sales, automotive, business services, health/beauty/recreation, and food and beverage industries. Rounding out the top 10 were: 2) American Asphalt Sealcoating, 3) Lawn Doctor, 4) Molly Maid, 5) The Maids, 6) J.D. Byrider Sales, 7) Stanley Steemer International, 8) Papa Murphy's, 9) Signs Now, and 10) Housemaster.

"Companies that have developed learning or teaching programs--whether in information technology or remedial reading--can be not only a good business opportunity, but an excellent service to the general population," according to Leonard N. Swartz, worldwide managing director of franchise services for Arthur Andersen LLP. "Sylvan has an excellent reputation."

Surveys such as SUCCESS Magazine's annual Franchise Gold 200 "provide an additional source for prospective franchisees and consumers evaluating and comparing systems," Swartz says. "They also acknowledge good performance for the systems that are ranked and issue a challenge to those systems that want to climb the ranking ladder."

JoAnne Shaw, president of the International Franchise Association, says Sylvan sets the bar high. "I believe Sylvan Learning Centers is a wonderful system," she says. "They've established themselves in the industry and have a lot of credibility. It doesn't surprise me that they would become the No. 1 franchise in the country."

"I have not stopped smiling since I got the news," says Flo Schell, vice president of franchise development for Sylvan Learning Centers. "People in this company have worked so hard. We've done all the right things."

Doing all the right things means a company delivers quality goods or services, is financially sound, respects the franchisor-franchisee relationship, and is constantly looking for new services and products to meet changing needs in the marketplace, according to Swartz. Increasingly, successful companies are also expanding their territories by going global.

"Sylvan's leadership has done an excellent job," Swartz says.

LEADERSHIP

Sylvan Learning Systems, headquartered in Baltimore, was founded in 1979. It is one of the largest private-sector education services firms in the world with nearly 3,000 learning, training, and testing centers in more than 100 countries. Annual revenues were a reported $270 million in 1999. In the past several years, Sylvan has expanded its territory from the United States, Canada, Guam, and Hong Kong to include Spain, Germany, Austria, Italy, the United Kingdom, and France.

The company is headed by several visionaries, who turned the remedial reading and math tutorial service into a multifaceted education, training, and testing business serving all ages and skill levels.

* Douglas L. Becker, chairman and CEO of Sylvan Learning Systems, joined Sylvan in 1991 as president when the company merged with KEE Systems, an educational technology firm he co-founded in 1987 with long-time friend and business partner Chris Hoehn-Saric. The partners also co-founded Sterling Capital Ltd., a major shareholder in Sylvan and KEE. Hoehn-Saric is on Sylvans board and is chairman and CEO of Sylvan Ventures, a company that develops educational products and services.

* Peter J. Cohen, president and COO of Sylvan Learning Systems and president of Sylvan Learning Centers, oversees the centers, contract education services (Sylvan Education Solutions), and the English language centers overseas. His background includes stints as a corporate executive and area licensee for franchiso...

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