By Gordon Pitts

Sunday, February 13, 2005

Irked ex-franchisees recruit former CEO

Tim Moore spent two decades building AMJ Campbell Inc. from a tiny van line into Canada's biggest independent mover. But now he wants to run his old company off the road.

Mr. Moore, whose ties to Mississauga-based AMJ Campbell were severed in a bitter legal battle two years ago, is launching rival Premiere Van Lines, a company built on dissident former AMJ Campbell franchisees.

But this is not a story of revenge, insisted Mr. Moore, 60, who is moving to Toronto from his retirement home in Chester, N.S., to command the new national enterprise. "I had to come back and give back my support to this group [of franchisees]," said Mr. Moore, adding that Premiere will hit the ground running with 17 branches and close to $40-million in annual revenue.

"It is the franchise guys who are driving it, and they have come to Tim to lead them," said Daryl Amirault, a Halifax-area franchise owner acting as Premiere president until Mr. Moore takes over officially on April 1 when the firm hits the road.

Mr. Amirault, a business partner of Mr. Moore, said the relationship between AMJ head office and local franchises deteriorated under current AMJ president Bruce Bowser.

Mr. Bowser, once Mr. Moore's protégé, denied there was a widespread revolt against his leadership, but acknowledges Mr. Moore's new company will be a competitor in the national moving industry. He said the exodus of franchisees--14 in all, he said--would not hurt his company's ability to serve the 38 Canadian cities where it now operates through about 55 branches.

He said disgruntled franchisees are mainly a group to whom AMJ Campbell had decided not to offer renewals as their long-term contracts approached maturity on March 31. The plan was to convert a number of these branches to company-owned operations or to enlist new franchisees, he said.

He denied Mr. Moore's contention that AMJ Campbell, which has annual revenue of more than $100-million, has offered financial inducements to lure some defectors back in the system.

Mr. Browser also disputed Premiere's claims that it will immediately gross $40-million a year, making it the second-largest Canadian mover behind either AMJ or another rival firm. He said a reorganized AMJ Campbell will maintain its current levels of business in the cities where the companies compete.

But Mr. Moore insisted that "you cannot replace infrastructure and the talents and character of this group. This group clearly represents the culture of the moving company that made us famous."

The dispute has been brewing for some time. Flamboyant Mr. Moore gained a high profile as the owner and president of AMJ Campbell, which grew dramatically as Canadian agent for Atlas Van Lines. He wrote a book about his experiences--On the Move: How to Survive and Succeed as an Entrepreneur.

Having sold AMJ in 1988, he came back as CEO in 1991 to help guide it through hard times. But by the late 1990s, Mr. Moore had retreated from day-to-day management, and tapped Mr. Bowser as the next president. Mr. Moore settled into a semi-retired consulting role at a salary of $150,000 a year.

Mr. Moore began to be critical of Mr. Bowser's management style, and wrote a letter to his successor in 2002 alleging that the new president was undermining the chain's collegial culture. Those allegations were also made by franchisees who had been close to Mr. Moore.

In November, 2002, AMJ Campbell was the target of a takeover attempt led by Halifax investor George Armoyan. Mr. Moore has denied allegations he was involved in the bid. The moving company was ultimately acquired by a management group led by Mr. Bowser.

In December, 2002, Mr. Moore's consulting contract was ended, and the former president sued his old company for breach of contract. The suit was resolved out of court.

The dissident franchisees approached Mr. Moore a year ago about helping them, Mr. Amirault says, but the former president was restrained by a non-compete agreement until Oct. 1. About two months ago, Mr. Moore said, he decided to get back in the moving business. "My intent was only to go back and help a few people out. What has happened is everybody is jumping on the bandwagon."

© Copyright 2005 Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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