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Cartridge City
Key benefits of our franchise
Opportunities  Cartridge City Franchise offers self-employment for the main household ‘bread winner’, but may also be considered as a family team effort. Cartridge City Franchisees have the added bonus of enjoying a first class business image.A country with limitless opportunities for Cartridge City franchisees! Cartridge City (Franchising) Ltd offers an investment opportunity for real, not maybe. The central office team will help structure a financial package to suit individual requirements. This may include special banking terms to allow the initial franchise license fee to be paid over a period of up to 24 months. Depending on individual financial requirements, the central office team may recommend a nominated national bank who specialise in supporting franchise enterprise. Normally this support helps to finance initial stock and working capital for the business. top Support The Central office team offer friendly support from the planning stage - through product training, to long-term business expansion. Once a franchise selects a retail shop, the central office team transform the empty shell into a vibrant retail outlet, with the essential technical 'behind the scenes' support, then hand back the unit ready for first day trading! During this short period, each franchisee will receive full product training. The central office team support the venture at each stage of development. Product support is available if and when required on a daily basis via email, in addition to ongoing site visits. Support staff are on site throughout your first trading week. Meet Paul Harvey – New Store Project Manager  Hello and welcome to Cartridge City Franchise! Often setting up a new business or new store is both a stressful and time-consuming process. My team and I exist to take all those pressures away from you! I will plan every area of your store, my team and I will then action all areas to complete the turn key solution within the shortest timescales possible. All areas will be catered for from window signage, shop fitting's, carpets, right through to EPOS till systems, all your stock, all equipment right down to the detail of simple stationary like folders, pens and even spare staples. All areas will be actioned to company standards allowing you, the franchisee, to have the keys returned to you with a business ready to trade. Ongoing I will be your contact for any concerns or issues you may have as time moves on, I will work very closely with the Cartridge City Trainer to keep you all up to date with any changes and new products we may be faced with to ensure we stay at the forefront of our market place. I look forward to working with you and enjoying success for both our businesses. top What’s included? Epos System A PC based epos system is used in Cartridge City Stores. This operates your tills, your stock file, holds customer account details and allows you to run numerous sales and VAT reports to ensure you stay in control of your business. Store Fitting Once a franchisee has secured premises, Cartridge City will take over and fit all your store to company standards. Fittings include all PC equipment, epos system, test printers, toner workstation, electric works, carpeting, signage - everything you will need down to, and including a stapler. Services
Work safely with toner cartridges. Our state-of-the-art machines ensure all potentially hazardous toner dust is safely sucked away. Cartridge City’s target is to be the No.1 choice for ink refills throughout the UK. By using nominated supply sources, Cartridge City customers can make up to 60% savings by refilling their cartridges. We are pleased to be associated with brands such as Jet-Tec, Digitus, IBM, Fuji, Canon, Epson, Lexmark and Hewlett Packard whose stock compliment the range of Cartridge City branded products. In addition to the main ink sales, consumables and peripherals add a further 20% to sales turnover. Cartridge City is ideally placed to serve business customers in your trading area. Schools and hospitals are sizeable users of the ink products on a repeat basis. With premium pricing, you are ideally placed to start supplying in these areas. Architects, engineering companies, solicitors and banks etc all use substantial quantities of ink products on an ongoing basis. The list goes on and on - and don’t forget your domestic customers. A Franchise area can be reserved for only £1000 + VAT which will be deducted from your final License fee on completion. Remember this is an opportunity to build your customer base, your business, in your clearly defined area. Cartridge City's legal team can also assist you in the negotiations for your premises whether you are leasing or buying. Store Stock As part of the store fit out, you will be provided with all your opening stock including a full range of specific inks for refilling toner and parts for re-manufacture, bulk and speciality paper, own brand cables, everything that makes up the Cartridge City product range. Cost of store fitting and initial stock will be £35 - £40,000 inc. VAT depending on the size of your unit. This investment will be due for payment prior to works commencing. Cartridge City can introduce banks to assist in funding. top Funding and finance Cartridge City have the benefit of funding available from HSBC (subject to standard banking conditions). They can provide up to 60% of the total cost, including:
The License Cartridge City Franchisees operate under license from Cartridge City (Franchising) Ltd. Licenses are issued by geographical zone. This is a one off payment to operate as many stores as you want in your purchased zones. Zones are available to purchase at £30,000 plus VAT. Franchisees are also a viable investment for an investor who may wish to add to their portfolio, or those who seek a second business opportunity. top The brand The Cartridge City brand can be identified by our distinctive orange and blue colours on the front of the store. The branding is continued in-store with standard fittings, carpeting and uniforms. Additionally there are various Cartridge City branded items on point-of-sale, such as computer cables and leads. Your store will also appear on a section on the cartridgecity.co.uk website with your contact details and store photo. top Why join Cartridge City?  We are a young company that’s growing fast: three stores opened in 2003 with a further three franchise stores open by January 2004. Whilst a young company, Cartridge City is focused on achieving the goals of a determined board of directors who have between them, years of experience, not only in business, but specifically the IT sector and in franchising. The board are very clear on where the company is going and how it will get there. Cartridge City wants like-minded, focused individuals who want to succeed to join us as franchisees. To that end your decision process is also one that the company will go through too. The decisions you must make about Cartridge City being the vehicle for your success are also a decision process that the board must go through as to whether or not you are the right 'business partner' for us. Cartridge City is not just about making money, but being part of a team that wants to be successful and wants to be so whilst carrying out it's business with honesty and integrity in an open environment. Franchisees will not be successful without us nor us without them! The Board of Cartridge City welcome the opportunity of discussing with potential franchisees how we may be able to work together in the future. top Testimonial Mark Hawtin, Franchisee - Cartridge City Milton Keynes. Firstly tell us about your background Mark... I come from an Agricultural background and having done a BSc (Hons) and an MBA at the Royal Agricultural College I went into the beef industry, however due to the detrimental effects of Foot and Mouth Disease resulting in two redundancies in 18 months I decided that I was looking for a fresh challenge. From a selfish point of view I wanted to be my own boss (at least I can't make myself redundant!). With IT becoming evermore important in day-to-day life I decided to look into a business within the IT sector. Many businesses state that their main concerns with their IT budget is the cost of consumables, which is what led me to Cartridge City. Following meetings with Cartridge City it was clear that they were offering a complete package and continued support once the shop doors are open, not just on week 1, this was especially important to me as I am also getting married this year so there are times when I may be focussing my attentions away from the business, but I can do so in the knowledge that the support is there if needed. Cartridge City's package was clearly more favourable than many others offered by a franchise in the market place. I am green in terms of retail experience but my degrees have proved invaluable to me (especially my MBA) as all the business principles and tools can be utilised in whatever business sector you're in, whether that be farming or cartridge refilling! How long have you been at the Milton Keynes store? Since day 1! I got the keys to the premises on Thursday 15th January 2004, Cartridge City shop-fitting team arrived on the Friday 16th and we opened for trading on Friday 23rd January 2004. Quite clearly a quick turn around when I look back now at what the store looked like when I first got it and then 8 days later completely refurbished it seems amazing that 2 guys were able to complete the work so quickly and maintain a very high standard. How have you enjoyed it so far? Every day is different which is great, like everything there are highs and lows but the former far outweigh the latter. At the end of the day we are offering our customers a service that not only saves them money but also aids the environment, it is hard to not feel happy! Many friends thought I was mad to set up a business in the same year that I am getting married, I'm glad that I have so far proved them wrong! It is the best thing I have ever done! What are the challenges you face?
ii) Learning the world of ink cartridges & toners! I was no way IT ignorant but knowing a HP C4092A Laser toner from a HP C4127X or a HP 78 from an HP 58 ink cartridge would have been beyond me. However a weeks training in the Northampton store taught me the basics and on week 1 of trading I had a member of the Cartridge City team on hand in my store providing additional training throughout the week. iii) The general public are very wary of refilling and are worried about the quality of refills, so in the early stages this is a hurdle but the offer of Cartridge City's satisfaction guarantee helps and it is normally not long before that customer is back in the shop asking for a top up. iv) The future?... to keep the business growing month on month. At present (week 18 of trading) there is myself on a 6-day week and 1 other employee on a 40 hour week. I am looking to employ another member of staff shortly as the business continues to pick up, whether that additional member of staff is a full or part timer is yet to be decided, but hopefully that will leave me less tied to the store and provide an opportunity to visit more existing and potential business customers as well as maybe have the odd day off! Is there interaction between the different store managers? I regularly speak to all the guys, not just the managers in all the stores. We regularly meet up for a beer and chance to catch up on what's going on. How is your typical day divided? I aim to get to the store by 8.30am and make sure that everything is in order. Most mornings I spend some time on the telephone-calling customers (both present and potential). The early afternoon is spent refilling and remanufacturing and then later I like to do all the collections and deliveries. I try and set aside 1 afternoon a week for paperwork. What proportion of the operation is to businesses, and what proportion to the public? At present a high proportion of customers are members of the public, however I expect this to even out as I have been actively talking to numerous businesses and they are keen to get something going with Cartridge City in the near future. What exciting events/additions are there on the horizon? We're about to embark on another high profile advertising campaign - and I am looking for the Cartridge City (MK) Smart Car to break the land speed record!! Another store somewhere? (who knows?) Would you set up another Cartridge City franchise? Yes, most definitely! Watch this space...! top  Key Info | | ||||||||||
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