PRINT.IT
27
INTERVIEW
Stores can
also create
and price
their own
MPS using
their choice
of printer
and OEM or
Cartridge
World
supplies
“There are a lot of basic things
that a Master Franchise should
do to support its franchisees that
haven’t been happening. Things like
having a PR agency to get the brand
out there and increase awareness;
having a promotional plan; having
a marketing plan to identify vertical
markets; driving more online sales.
These weren’t in place before,” he
explained.
Cartridge World is also updating
its store design, with a new colour
scheme and lay-out. “We already
have our first store with this new
format and it’s a lot more like an
Apple store. It’s really clean and
uncluttered, with modern lighting,
LCD screens, coffee machines
and illuminated pods for displaying
products.”
Callow believes that getting
these basics right will create a solid
platform in support of Cartridge
World’s ambitious growth plans.
Hardware sales
Another key short-term goal is to
increase sales of printers and OEM
supplies by offering more choice and
holding more machines in stock so
that a customer can go into a store
and walk out with a new printer,
rather than having to wait for next-
day delivery.
In 2015 hardware sales made up
10% of turnover and Callow would
like to raise this to 20%. He would
also like to increase sales of OEM
supplies, so that in future years
the ratio of OEM to Cartridge World-
branded supplies is 50:50 compared
to 40:60 today.
“We can do a really good job for
major vendors,” he said. “We’ve got
75 stores completely focused on
print, unlike Staples or PC World,
which sell lots of other stuff. And
because stores are independent
franchisees they have the freedom
and ability to negotiate with any
customer. If someone walks into a
store and says ’I print 300 pages
a month and if you give me that
machine for free, I will buy all of my
ink from you’, a franchisee could say
‘Yes, no problem; I’ll just draw up
the papers for you to sign’. That is a
huge benefit when you are talking to
small businesses and professional
home users. Staples can’t do that.”
Since taking over, Callow has
been working hard to strengthen
relationships with key vendors,
including Canon, Samsung, UTAX and
HP (via one of its partners). They
have responded by offering increased
support, which Cartridge World UK
has built on with incentives of its
own, such as cash-back promotions
to attract more business customers.
These initiatives are already
having an effect on hardware sales.
For example, in July and August,
traditionally quiet months, average
sales of Canon printers went up by
more than 300%, from 120 units a
month to just over 400.
Focus on B2B
This level of vendor engagement
supports Callow’s long-term goal for
Cartridge World, which is to increase
business-to-business (B2B) sales.
To this end, in January he is
launching a B2B-only franchise
model designed to be run from an
office, with online and telesales and
shipments direct from distribution.
“We will grant rights to use the
Cartridge World Business brand;
deliver a website that we can update
and manage centrally; and deliver
a marketing plan. Someone could
acquire the franchise for a particular
area and expand the B2B business
there,” he said.
A number of parties have already
expressed interest in this new
model and Callow thinks there is
the potential to set up as many as
80 B2B franchises in the next three
years.
Managed Print Services
In the meantime, Cartridge World
is continuing to develop its B2B
expertise. It has launched a B2B
partnership programme for its
top franchisees featuring vendor
training on products and services
and additional direct marketing
to business customers. Fifteen
franchisees joined at the beginning
of July, with another 6 or 7 due to
sign up at the beginning of October.
Managed print services (MPS) is
a particular focus. In July Cartridge
World rolled out HP’s Partner MPS to
franchisees on its B2B programme
and the first deals from that are now
being closed. Stores can also create
and price their own MPS using
their choice of printer and OEM or
Cartridge World
has been
strengthening
relationships
with vendors
like Canon
Cartridge World supplies.
In addition, Cartridge World is
partnering with UTAX to provide
MPS for copiers. “Our franchisees
sell a lot of desktop printers and
consumables and are in and out of
businesses all day long,” explained
Callow. “In these businesses, they
see copiers but can’t capitalise
on the opportunity because they
may not have the experience to
put together a complicated MPS
contract. We had a choice; do we
try to train up franchisees in how to
sell copier contracts or do we find
a partner to work with closely. Now,
we pass on these opportunities to
UTAX. Half a dozen deals have been
completed on this basis in the last
three months and there are many
more in the pipeline.”
Franchisee recruitment
With so many opportunities in B2B
sales, Callow doesn’t expect to
see any increase in the number of
Cartridge World stores in the short-
term. In fact, there may even be a
decline.
“I think that as we launch more
B2B initiatives and franchisees do
more and more B2B business, some
are going to ask ‘Why have we got
this store? We have to have two
staff in there and we’ve got to hold
all this stock. Yet the part of the
business that’s growing we could
run from an office’. So I think that
10 or 15 of the existing stores will
move to the office-based model,
and most of the new franchisees we
recruit will join as B2B franchisees
only. We are not actively trying to
decrease the number of stores, but
I think it might go down naturally as
people transition out of those stores
and into offices. I don’t think having
lots of retails stores reflects how
customers want to shop.”
In his first six months as the
Master Franchise, Paul Callow has
already achieved an enormous
amount, helping to revitalise the
Cartridge World brand in the UK
and meet the changing needs of
consumers and business customers.
And this is just the start. Early
next year, Cartridge World will be
unveiling a new initiative, a new
model, offering even more benefits
to business customers.
In recent years, Cartridge World
has maintained a very low profile.
With Paul Callow at the helm, there’s
no risk of that in the future.
