Cartridge World

Cartridge World

Company type	Private
Industry	Consumable Recycling
Founded	(1991)
Headquarters	Emeryville, California , United States
Key people	Bryan Stokes, Founder
Products	N/A
Website	http://www.cartridgeworld.com/

File:Cartridgeworldheadquarters.jpg

Cartridge World headquarters in Emeryville

Cartridge World is an international company specializing in the remanufacturing of ink and toner cartridges for consumer printing. Run under independently operated franchises, the company also sells compatible cartridges and printing accessories. All cartridge refilling is done in house, typically using vacuum injection for ink and manual repair to toner cartridges. The company was founded in Australia, but their international headquarters were recently relocated to its North America headquarters in Emeryville, California.

The company was originally called Australian Cartridge Co and was started by Bryan Stokes in 1991. He was joined several years later by Paul Wheeler who helped the company grow. In 1999 the company's name was changed to Cartridge World. In 2004, they were growing at roughly one store in the U.S. per day. They currently have over 1,600 stores open worldwide (500+ in the U.S.). OEM printer manufacturers, such as HP and Epson, have devised significant challenges against cartridge refill industries to combat their increasing market share.

Cartridge World operates on a franchise system and doesn't require store operators to have any prior technical skills. In the U.S., it provides as much as 80-hours of training to new franchisees before they open their stores. Shops are typically set up in suburbs and inner-city locations close to small businesses and consumers that would prize proximity and convenience. This approach contrasts with that of its major competitors – ‘big box’ office-suppliers.

In the UK, Cartridge World has the largest percentage of the refilling industry. The first British store opened in February 2001, in Harrogate. There are now over 250 stores in the UK, a leading example of which is in Rotherham.

In US (as of early 2007) a franchise from Cartridge World costs around $150,000. According to [Wall Street Journal] price cover a franchising fee, marketing materials, training and the fitting-out of a store. Franchisee candidates have to pass a screening.

As of March 1st, 2008, Cartridge World has over 1,500 franchise locations in 45 countries. 763 of them being in the United States alone. The is an average of 4 Cartridge World franchise locations being opened each week around the world. Recently, Cartridge World moved into South Africa, opening three franchise store. -Cite needed

The aftermarket currently has close to an 18 percent share of the worldwide ink cartridge market in terms of revenue. However, Lyra forecasts that share will decline to just under 16.5 percent by 2011 due to barriers such as chips and lawsuits, the OEMs' stepped-up marketing efforts and willingness by OEMs to compete on price. It should be noted that this is the first time that Lyra has ever forecast that third-party ink jet supplies vendors will lose share. (http://www.opi.net/archive/archived_content/2008/february_2008/ink_jet_feb_08).

The UK stores are currently trying a process which enables the store to create higher quality refilled cartridges. This uses techniques designed to clean a used cartridge back to the condition it was in prior to being initially filled by the manufacturer. Together which electrical testing and vacuum filling, a Cartridge World refilled cartridge is purported to be of high quality. They offer a 100% money back guarantee to back this up.

See also

• Ink cartridge

External links

• Cartridge World website
• Wall Street Startup Journal Cartridge World Article
• Ink Cartridges store similar to cartridge world where you can buy online
• Compatible Ink Cartridges vs. Genuine Ink Cartridges - Understand the difference