Case Studies
Issue No. 5 - April/June 2002
Cartridge World
World is their Oyster
Out on Charles Street in Norwood is the headquarters of a world empire. Cartridge World, a business started in Franklin Street in 1988, is attracting franchisees from around the globe who want a piece of this very efficiently developed niche market.
A unique technology situation gives the printer cartridge refill business very attractive global prospects. Canon and Hewlett Packard have imposed de facto global standards for printers, so refill techniques and equipment can be effective anywhere, in Australia or overseas. Cartridge World founder Brian Stokes and co-owner Paul Wheeler have seized the opportunity to do a deceptively simple thing very well.
“The partnership had two wonderful things going for it: the product knowledge that I have and the franchising knowledge that Paul has,” Brian says.
Their decision to market the franchising option strongly was the breakthrough. Franchising has financed the cost of international expansion and covered the cost of sales growth. There has been little pain; because Cartridge World is consistently profitable there has been no pressure on the partnership as happens when money runs short.
Instead, they have been careful to reinvest “99 per cent” of profits back into the business. “Printer consumables are a grudge purchase,” Brian explains. “At the moment the cartridge is empty, the printer owner has to make a decision: buy a brand new cartridge, which is expensive; get the cartridge refilled or throw the printer away.”
“Refills are by far the better option, because they are half the cost of a new cartridge. We push that aspect hardest, but refilling is much more environmentally friendly, too.”
Cartridge World is not the only refill option around, but Brian has worked hard to forge a reliable and effective service. Customers get their own cartridge back, along with advice on how to look after their equipment properly so it can be refilled again. ‘While you waitR...
