Cartridge World is the leading retailer of cartridge refilling services and one of the fastest growing franchise businesses in the world. The company philosophy is simple: to refill cartridges as quickly and conveniently as possible for upto half the price of new and offering quality as good as new.
Introduction
Usage of printers has today become a household need. Printers have become
affordable but cost of printing hasn’t. We often find that the cost of an OEM
cartridge is as much as the cost of the printer. Globally, 70% of Printer
cartridges are said to have been thrown into landfill every year. Cartridge
World offers an environmentally friendly, cost saving solution to this 21st
Century problem. Cartridge Refilling in the Indian-Sub Continent is largely
unorganized. Regular stationery needs of the consumers are catered to by
neighborhood shopkeepers. However, consumers today have specific needs and
manufacturers and retailers are aligning themselves with those consumer needs.
This has given birth to the concept of specialty stores. In general the
neighborhood stationery stores do not offer a big range, choice or specialized
services to customers. This is the gap that the organized players are
positioning themselves to cater to.
Cartridge World is uniquely positioned as a specialty retail format covering
digital imaging supplies and services business. Globally digital imaging is over
a US $101 Bn opportunity (source: Lyra research 2006), about 60% of which
belongs to cartridges alone. In India industry estimates reflect that printer
consumables are a Rs. 2500+ Crores opportunity growing at over 30% YOY with no
saturation point in view in the distant future.
Cartridge World, as you may have heard, is the world leader in refilling and
remanufacturing of inkjet and toner cartridges. The multi award bagging company,
headquartered in Australia, has a strong franchise network in over 51 countries
with more than 1675 stores. All cartridge World stores are owned and operated by
franchisees.
The concept has already won two prestigious awards in its first year of
operations in India viz. ‘New Concept in Franchising’ & ‘Concept of the Year
‘07’ awarded by Franchising Association of India and The Franchising World
Magazine respectively.
A Cartridge World store, positioned as a ONE STOP SHOP for all Printer needs,
offers the following range of services and products to its customers:
Services:
- Refilling and remanufacturing of a customers empty inkjet\bubblejet and
laser\toner printer cartridges with a 100% money back guarantee of OEM like
performance at a fractional cost
- Unbiased printer selection advise for free
- Cartridge care advise for free
Products:
- Printer Cartridges of all popular brands
- Printers of all popular brands
- Inkjet, Laser, Photo and Specialty Paper
- Office & Fax supplies
- Storage Devices
Franchise Support
A Cartridge World franchisee can look forward to take advantage of:
- Brand Name
- A well-established international brand name with business systems that have
been proven internationally and nationally
- Business Orientation and Technical Training Programs
- A 2 week Technical Training program conducted at our state-of-the-art Learning
Centre in Mumbai for 2 Technical Staff
- A 1 week Business Orientation training program conducted at our
state-of-the-art Learning Centre in Mumbai for 2 managerial level staff
(including the Franchise Owner)
- The Franchise Owner can also attend the complete 2 Week Technical Training
program in addition to the Business Orientation Training if he/she wishes to
- On going Technical Support
- Technical know-how and ongoing access to new developments in printing and
cartridge technology. (Access to Extranet)
- The benefits of on going research & development will be transferred to the
Franchisee to keep abreast of the developments in the industry
- Cartridge World's ability to continuously provide simple cost-effective
solutions to address in the rapidly changing cartridge and ink technology
- Store Development assistance
- Store & Ambience development manual will be released and assistance provided
in the development and store set-up by our Regional and Head office teams
- Manuals
- Franchisee will be provided with following Manuals which will help in starting
and running the Cartridge World business as per the Standard Operating
Procedures
- Store Development and Ambience Manual
- Store Set-up Manual
- Retail Store Operations Manual
- Sales Manual
- Brand Manual
- Buying Power
- Access to Global vendor relationships for effective buying of raw materials
- Finance assistance
- Assistance in procuring finance from SBI. Our project has been evaluated and
approved for financing by SBI* (More details will be shared once you join the
Cartridge World family)
- Marketing Support
- The Franchisor will provide requisite marketing support to propagate the
various services of Cartridge World stores through national and regional PR
programs and activities
- Sales & Marketing tools, designs / artworks for campaigns and Marketing
programs as and when developed will be sent to all Franchisees as per policy
Franchisee Profile
We are looking for committed and passionate partners who together with us carry
forward the mission to provide the best sales and service package on the supply
of consumables and printers, and provide information to the consumer on the
benefits of recycling.
- A graduate degree
- A good track record in business or profession
- Customer service orientation
- Ability to invest
form some of the main criteria based on which we select our Franchisees.
Schedule of Events / The Process of Awarding a Cartridge World Franchisee
At Cartridge World we open close to one new store every business day and as you
may understand we will only be able to place a specific number of stores in any
given market. I’m sure you will agree that it’s important to find the
best-qualified owners to help ensure the success of our system.
Standardisation is important to achieve quality. Below mentioned is the standard
process we follow to Award a franchise
- Enquiry Received
- Concept Note + Application Form sent to prospect/party
- Application Received from interested party/prospect
- More information on the project sent to party/prospect along with Financial
Disclosure Form
- Prospect sends the Financial Disclosure Form duly filled
- Telephonic Interview Call with prospect/party
- Presentation - Personal Appointment/meeting with prospect/party & store visit
- Decision Day
- Final Interview of party/prospect with Executive Committee of Cartridge World
- Awarding the Franchise and Signing of Agreement
Revenues and Profitability
The proposition is unique. Franchisees make a fortune while helping customers
save money and the environment without compromising on quality. Not many
businesses offer margins like that of printer cartridges refilling business.
Modestly speaking, a franchisee with the necessary skills and training can
achieve an operational break-even within 3-4 months of commencement of store
operations and a payback period within 24-30 months. More details will be
provided upon receipt of filled in Franchise Application forms
The Indian market
Printing has become a everyday need e.g. e-ticket, boarding passes, children’s
file work, printing photographs at home etc.. Industry sources indicate that in
India, the market size for printer cartridges is pegged at over Rs 2500 crores
and is growing at about 30% Year on Year. However, the Indian customer has a
very limited choice between expensive OEM cartridges, counterfeits and ‘locally’
refilled cartridges of poor quality. A product, which is cost effective and yet
assures the performance of a brand new cartridge, is undoubtedly a strong value
proposition. Globally, 62% of printing is attributed to the internet and India,
tipped to be the largest internet using country in the world by 2010, is bound
to see this industry leapfrog.
Cartridge World Stores in the Indian Sub-Continent
The Cartridge World brand, business format and product offerings are now
available in the Indian Sub-Continent through AFL Pvt. Ltd (www.afl.co.in), an
exclusive Master Franchisee of Cartridge World in this region. AFL through the
franchise route intends to set-up a network of 250 Cartridge World stores by
2010 and aims to garner a 10% market share.
Over 66 franchisees have already been appointed and 47 stores have been launched
in Mumbai, Bangalore, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Guahati, Varanasi, Nagpur, Jaipur,
Kochi, Coimbatore, Kolkata, Bhopal, Indore, Ranchi, Pune, Chennai, Lucknow,
Vizag and Gurgaon. The initial customer response to this unique concept has
indeed been overwhelming. With efficient technical training and marketing
support mechanisms in place, stores are reporting achievement of operational
break- even within 3-5 months of launch. The Franchisees in this area are
confident of achieving a pay-back within 24-30 months. So rewarding is the
opportunity that several franchisees have, within their first year of operation,
bought franchise for multiple stores.