Australia-based Cartridge World, one of the fastest growing speciality cartridge refilling and retail chains in the world, is looking at an aggressive expansion through the franchisee route in India and moving in to becoming a one-stop shop for all printer needs with enhanced product offerings.
Cartridge World in India started operations in 2007 and is a part of AFL Private Limited, which is the master franchisor for CW South Asia.
At present, CW had around 55 franchisee stores in India across 25 cities and planned to open another seven shortly on April 22, the Earth day, said Naveen Racheka, CEO (South Asia), CW.
“This year, we will be looking at a few more channels for reachng our consumers, widening our national footprint and offering more products."
Of the new stores, one each will come up in Noida, Jammu & Kashmir, Pondicherry, Secunderabad, two in Bangalore and one in Chennai.
In the East, CW has a total of seven stores, with five in Kolkata, which is one of the company's major markets.Another two will be launched shortly in Malda and Shillong.
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“East has done very well in business terms contributing a large share of our total income. We are aiming at becoming a complete one-stop shop for all printer needs with the latest product and service offering this year,” he said.
Demand for cartridges is expected to increase from 12.25 million units to about 30 million in unit terms in calender year 2009, which is an increase from Rs 1,600 crore to Rs 3,000 crore in revenue terms. This is despite the usage of emails and internet.
“We want to tap this growing market,” he said.