The UK and Ireland franchise has opened the new showroom store in Harrogate, England.
In a press release, the franchise stated that the “newly-formatted store departs from the traditional Cartridge World environment and showcases new printers and print supplies in a way that enables customers to get hands-on with hardware to ensure it meets their specific needs”. The aims of the store include to “provide customers a comfortable environment, with knowledgeable experts on hand, to explore solutions to help them print more efficiently and reduce costs”.
Other aims include: to “enable businesses to look at solutions which allows them to stay better connected to their organisation”; to “help customers save money and leave the showroom with exactly the right solution based on their needs”; and to “further support the local community’s small businesses and their printing requirements”. It plans to open five such showrooms in the UK throughout the remainder of 2017.
The new store shows off “both printers and print supplies”, and the initiative is “the latest investment in the franchise network […] to diversify the range of services and capabilities franchisees can take advantage of”, following the launch of the Sonar spending software and the opening of the Global Procurement Centre (GPC) in China last year.
Other features of the showroom include “meeting areas and facilities” including free coffee and Wi-Fi for a “comfortable working environment for business customers to stay connected to their organisation, while discussing and exploring options to help them print more efficiently and reduce costs”. The store is the second “directly owned and managed by the master franchise”, which took over Cartridge World Petersfield previously.
The franchise added that it plans, with the five UK showrooms this year, to open these “either through its existing franchise network, new franchisees, or through the master franchise itself”, while longer term “there are plans to roll the concept out in France, Spain and Portugal”, where the UK & Ireland franchise acquired franchise rights last November.
Paul Callow, Cartridge World UK & Ireland CEO, commented: “The very first Cartridge World store outside of Australia – where Cartridge World was founded – was opened in Harrogate in 2002, so it is entirely fitting that this brand new showroom should open in the town some 14 years later. In Petersfield, we’ve seen sales up 8.5 percent in January 2017 versus the same time period last year, and five percent more new customers.
“Along with Harrogate, we plan to use these stores to demonstrate best practice and what is possible when franchisees take full advantage of the promotions, tools and services, which have been introduced to the network by us since taking control of the UK business last April. When we set up new showrooms later this year, we are keen leverage the long service and deep product understanding of Cartridge World’s franchisees and store managers to deliver solutions and services that help customers save money and leave the showroom with exactly the right product based on their needs.
“We have some amazing franchisees in the Cartridge World network, and this is a great opportunity for those that want to evolve their business capabilities to respond to rapidly changing market dynamics.”