Branding your new franchise store is vital for success, whether your company name is an old favorite or new to your market area. The right awnings or canopies can help you attract customers, so you can live up to your own expectations and those of your franchise headquarters. For many franchise operations , Mapes canopies offer the perfect blend of style and function.
Mapes architectural canopies are particularly advantageous for ensuring visibility from a distance. If your store is located on a busy thoroughfare, on a congested side street, in a huge shopping center or it’s tucked among larger, more prominent businesses, Mapes canopies can give your place the stand-out branding you need so everyone can easily find you.
Mapes canopies are usually chosen for large-scale, somewhat industrial-looking applications, but with a little imagination and clever use of color, they are amazingly versatile. They offer interesting possibilities, even for small-size storefronts, so they might be an appealing choice for your franchise. Mapes canopies can blend in or contrast sharply with any façade material, from brick or brownstone to concrete, wood or stucco.
Mapes canopies rely on the genius of simplicity to get the job done.
But that doesn’t mean they’re boring. Or that your options are severely limited. Mapes canopies come in several structural variations:
- Wall-mounted or fascia styles can be affixed to the façade, like a sign, or supported with hanger rods to form a more traditional awning “roof.”
- Post-supported options are great for covering walkways.
- Flat soffit styles can be a good alternative if want to retain the look of an old-time metal awning on an historic building. You may even be required to do that, if your building is a designated landmark.
- Curved or arched shapes add greater dimension and visual interest.
- Escutcheon plates – small metal decorations – can give Mapes canopies a trim, finished look or add purely fun decorative accents.
- Louvered decking allows filtered shade, which is ideal for protecting your storefront and windows without cutting out all the natural day light. Or solid decking can provide complete canopy coverage that blocks the sun and protects your façade and sidewalk from rain or snow.
Use Mapes canopies to shade only your windows or protect your entire storefront. Or to give greater definition to your entrance. If your building has a curtain wall — an architectural element on the façade that isn’t part of the building’s support structure — you can use Mapes canopies to jazz it up.
Mapes canopies can incorporate your name or address numbers as part of the design, so they’re ultra-practical. Or you might want to combine an awning-style version with separate-but-matching exterior signage. You can use standard shapes and sizes or design an entirely unique structure by creating decorative shapes that make a big, bold statement.
You can choose from more than two dozen standard colors, or you can customize Mapes canopies to exactly match your franchise corporation’s logo colors. It’s easy to design a smart look that gives your store the individuality you want as a business owner but remains entirely true to your franchise brand and detailed design requirements.
Tough as nails, without the rust.
Mapes canopies are constructed of roll-formed aluminum, so they will never rust. They are reliably sturdy, making them an excellent option if your store is located where it’s notoriously windy, snowy, etc. New York, for instance. Their colors and protective finish are applied right at the factory, which means they’ll last far longer than the field-painted finishes commonly applied to structural steel canopies.
Mapes architectural canopies offer plenty of options. But you’ll want to make sure they meet your franchise corporation’s awning specifications as well as local building codes. So talk to an awning professional who has experience working with Mapes canopies and also franchise businesses. They’ll help you make sound, attractive choices perfectly suited to your type of franchise and your location.
