Electronics resale concept PayMore is entering Tennessee as part of its expansion. Scott Phillips recently signed a deal to open seven PayMore locations throughout Nashville as he looks to leverage the experience in technology and electronics gained as a franchisee of Asurion Tech Repair & Solutions (formerly uBreakiFix) since 2015.
Phillips had an entrepreneurial drive to enter franchising after 22 years of working in the music industry. He was struck again by that drive in 2020, at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I started looking at new businesses, especially those that were able to get through the pandemic,” Phillips said. “I noticed the technology and electronics world really didn’t take a hit, as staying connected to friends and family through technology was very big.”
While searching for brands in many different industries, Phillips said he was contacted about a year ago by PayMore, which buys and refurbishes a variety of electronic devices for resale and also sells new products.
“I really researched them for several months,” Phillips said. “I knew there was nothing like it in Nashville, so I could get in on the ground floor with it. I knew I could also expand my existing technology business world and have some synergy between the two brands.”
PayMore Franchisee Scott Phillips
Not only was PayMore in a category Phillips was familiar with, but it looked strong from an operator’s point of view as well.
“They have good streams of revenue, and their Item 19, start-up costs and operating costs were great,” Phillips said. “I could recognize that with my past experience. Scalability was a factor, too, which is why I picked seven stores. I felt that with what I have in knowing about multi-unit franchising, I could expand quickly.”
The cost to open a PayMore store is between $152,050 and $242,450. The company’s franchise disclosure document provides gross sales information for three corporate stores and one franchise unit, with a range of $822,777 to $2,102,575.
Founded in Long Island, New York, PayMore is working to expand and has 12 locations open. CEO Stephen Preuss said it was after the third location had opened that they decided to franchise, partnering with Fransmart in 2020.
“We were in Long Island, North Carolina and Brooklyn,” Preuss said. “We saw three different types of communities and demographics with those, and the markets for those stores became attached to our concept. We also had a lot of repeat customers. That and the success in different markets, we knew we had to expand, and it was a natural pick to go with franchising, because it would allow us to get into more communities within years, as opposed to self-funding.”
PayMore began its growth in states along the East Coast; it’s since signed deals to open in California, Florida, Texas and Washington.
PayMore CEO Stephen Preuss
“We look at each market as its own unique territory,” Preuss said. “We look at each market and we try to identify where to put a store by the population. The good thing about PayMore is we’re nimble. We have some that are as small as 500 square feet and others as large as 2,500 square feet.”
In the deal with Phillips, the Nashville franchisee has seven years to open his locations and already has the lease signed for his first, set to open this summer. Phillips said he’s in the process of securing a lease for the second unit now and is looking for a location to develop his third store.
“Scott is a great example of an ideal candidate for us,” Preuss said. “Someone who has exposure in the general electronics market, and knows the market he’s developing. He’s coming into our system certainly with an advantage.”