Enterprise Rent-A-Car demonstrates the power of keeping a company private

Enterprise Holdings Inc. managed to become the world’s largest rental-car company by sales without actually spanning the globe. The chief executive officer says he knows that has to change. Until recently, there wasn’t an Enterprise rental counter in China, Spain or France. Malaysia and Korea, a couple of the world’s fastest growing markets, remain untapped. So to meet the global needs of international corporations, Chief Executive Officer Andy Taylor, son of founder Jack Taylor, has had to do something they have been loath to try in the 56 years they’ve controlled the closely held St. Louis area company: franchising. “Years ago, the thought of licensing was absolutely abhorrent,” Andy Taylor, 65, said in an interview. “We want to control that customer experience. We want our people taking care of customers. But we’re learning that if we’re going to be a global brand, and we need to be competitive in the future, we’ll have to do it a different way.” Just not too different. While he’s willing to give up a little control over customer contact to gain local insights, Enterprise isn’t interested in going public or making any other radical changes after the merger of Hertz Global Holdings Inc. and Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. last year or the rise of Zipcar Inc. and its acquisition by Avis Budget Group Inc., announced in January. Going global With a strong family culture and tight control over practices that set the industry’s benchmarks, Enterprise has been able to call its own shots. It even set off this latest, and presumably last, round of major industry consolidation with its acquisition of the Alamo and National brands before the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. While those additions made Enterprise bigger, they didn’t make it global. That�