David Kenton and Adam Dobson – Cartridge World Preston
Background
David Kenton and Adam Dobson were two Cartridge World employees who grasped the opportunity to become business owners when their Preston store came up for sale in 2006.
What introduced them to Cartridge World
With a background in retail management and training, David was taken on at Cartridge World Preston as a manager. Adam, who had been working in a warehouse, came in to support David, rapidly rising to the role of Assistant Manager. The pair formed a strong working relationship and quickly came to recognise the benefits of the business: a high quality product – matching the standard of the manufacturer’s original or even exceeding it – excellent customer service and substantial savings for customers. When Cartridge World Preston came up for sale, the pair didn’t think twice about taking the plunge.
Progress to date
Business is currently growing by up to 35 per cent a month, with the store turning over around £14.5K per month. Stuart and Adam are confident that they can soon bring this up to the £20K level of the store during its heyday under the previous management. Projected turnover for the current financial year is over £170K. The business partners hope to open a second satellite store locally in the next couple of years.
As well as receiving support from the Cartridge World head office, which runs advertising campaigns and provides technical support and research and development among other things, the business partners believe that their success is due in no small part to the Business Development Manager assigned to their store who has helped provide a strategic overview of the business.
David says...
“Adam Davison, our Business Development Manager, has been fantastic and helped us no end. He’s really showed us how to run our store as a business, rather than just a franchise, and provided an endless stream of useful suggestions, which come from his own experience of running a business.
“Adam and I also genuinely believe in the product we sell and the service we provide, and that comes across to current and potential customers.
“The recession is a golden opportunity for Cartridge World franchisees – this business is probably as close to ‘recession-proof’ as you can get. We’re still seeing increases in sales and getting up to 30 enquiries a day about our products.
“So long as we continue to manage the business carefully, our customer base will keep increasing.
“An added benefit is the ‘green’ side of what we do. Customers see it as a big bonus, and we follow it through by recycling behind the scenes as well. The environment is increasingly making headlines, which can only help us.”
