CartridgeWorld wins franchise award

Cartridge World has seen its aggressive international franchise expansion programme publicly recognised by winning at the highly prestigious Franchise Marketing Awards 2007 event, organised last month by the Venture Marketing Group on behalf of the British Franchise Association.

The company, which has opened 1400 stores in 45 countries since 1997, won the ‘Best International Franchise Expansion Programme’. It is the first time that the company has won the award, which, according to the judges, was given due to its “extraordinary growth in a large number of territories across the globe. From humble beginnings in South Australia the significant expansion, particularly in recent years, has helped create an increasingly recognised global retail brand.”

Now headquartered in the USA, Cartridge World has established 580 stores across Europe and a further 500 stores in the USA. Stores have also been opened in other locations throughout Asia and the Middle East. The company is projecting opening a further 200 stores in the USA, whilst its European expansion programme is expected to continue with new stores opening across the existing markets where Cartridge World has a presence. Its 46 Master Franchisees globally have been granted licenses to appoint franchisees in a further sixty countries.

According to Duncan Berry, the company’s Director of European Franchising, demand for its products has been driven by society becoming more aware of their responsibilities towards the environment and their impact on global warming. He said, “The environmental aspect of the CW concept dovetails neatly with the raised expectations of the modern-day consumer about IT-based products and services, which must continue to deliver increased value at ever lower cost, and yet must not be seen to penalise society with high disposal costs”.

The company has implemented an aggressive business plan to support this fast paced store opening strategy. This includes:

·        Moving the headquarters from Australia to the US so as to better serve global markets

·        Expanding the UK-based European Franchise Support team

·        Streamlining the store opening process including providing centralised store fit-out and training

·        Appointing new Business Development Managers in all UK territories

·        Creating dedicated functional support teams covering Purchasing; Operations; Marketing, Technical and Warehousing      

Commenting on the company’s success at the award ceremony, held on the 23^rd March at the Marriott London Hotel in Grosvenor Squa