Cartridge World opens first ‘Showroom’ store in Harrogate

Cartridge World UK & Ireland has launched a new store format with plans to open five showrooms in the UK in 2017.

The business opened the doors to its brand new Harrogate showroom this month. The new-format store is a first for the company and a departure from the traditional Cartridge World retail environment, showcasing new printers and print supplies in a way that enables customers and prospects to get hands on with hardware to ensure it meets their specific needs.

This initiative is the latest investment in the franchise network by Cartridge World UK & Ireland to diversify the range of services and capabilities franchisees can take advantage of. These include Cartridge World Sonar™, software that enables customers to get better control of their print spending, and the opening of its Global Procurement Centre (GPC) in China.

The showroom includes meeting areas and facilities such as free Nespresso coffee and Wi-Fi to provide 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.

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.

This is the second store directly owned and managed by the master franchise, who took ownership of Cartridge World Petersfield.

Paul said: In Petersfield, we’ve seen sales up 8.5% in January 2017 versus the same time period last year, and 5% 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.

Cartridge World UK & Ireland plans to open five showrooms in 2017, either through its existing franchise network, new franchisees, or through the master franchise itself. Longer term, there are plans to roll the concept out in France, Spain and Portugal, countries where the UK & Ireland master franchise acquired the franchise rights in November 2016.

Callow added: 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.

Cartridge World Harrogate is open for business today and will be the base of operations for Gavin Askew, General Manager UK and EU Sales Director who concluded: Harrogate has a place in our hearts because it’s where a lot of us did our training when we joined Cartridge World. Small businesses come and go in local communities and when the old Harrogate store closes, it was clear that it needed to be re-opened as quickly as possible to continue serving the local community. We’ve invested a lot of time and effort in developing this fantastic store to help elevate the Cartridge World brand and I’m excited about this new retail experience will mean for our customers and the future success of the business as a whole.