BRIGHT LIGHTS GUIDE SMART FILM FANS IN EPSOM NOT many things are guaranteed to catch the eye of bleary-eyed movie fans leaving the cinema at midnight. However, carefully positioned lighting outside the Smart Cartridge Franchise in Epsom has ensured the store has secured its place in the minds of the movie going masses. Now – as he celebrates his first anniversary in business on the Upper High Street – franchisee Harshil Amin said many customers first spy the outlet after a night at the flicks. Former salesman Harshil said: The clever use of lighting seems to be paying off as we have had some people coming in with spent cartridges who first spotted us after a night at the cinema. Harshil worked for electrical retailers Comet for 18 years but started to get tired of the same routine and decided to explore other business opportunities. He went to a franchise exhibition at the NEC in Birmingham – initially keen to find out more about starting a franchise for a major food chain – but was instead impressed with the opportunities presented by Smart Cartridge director Suzie McCafferty. He added: In our business, I feel, the key to success is personalising your service. In this area, particularly, people are simply inundated with the hard sell for a variety of things on a daily basis Smart Cartridge Franchising really has something special to offer customers – serious savings and the chance to go green into the bargain – so it is important franchisees take the right approach with people to get our message out there.

The responsibility of businesses in terms of treating waste prior to disposal will step up a gear at the end of October, when a new package of measures will be applied across the EU by the Landfill Directive. Afterwards, sites will no longer accept untreated waste in a bid to help increase recycling and recovery and reduce potentially polluting emissions from landfills. Treatment means the waste must have gone through a physical, thermal, chemical or biological process, including sorting. Any treatment must change the characteristics of the waste either to reduce its volume, reduce its hazardous nature, facilitate its handling or enhance its recovery. Smart Cartridge in Epsom has long been helping many businesses in the area achieve this by collecting, reusing and remanufacturing their empty cartridges and saving them up to 60% at the same time. 

Smart Cartridge is one of the UK’s fastest growing franchise groups. Established in 2001, the Edinburgh-based company now has 60 franchisee-owned outlets throughout the UK and overseas. The annual revenues from stores in five countries now amount to approximately £6m. The company’s core business is ink cartridge refills and laser cartridge remanufacture but over the past five years Smart Cartridge has continually innovated and expanded the product portfolio to include: • Own brand compatible cartridges for all major makes of printer. • Stationery supplies • Photographic and specialist papers For franchisees the company offers a strong brand image, a proven profitable business model, high quality products and multiple revenue streams. In addition there is industry leading head office support for operational, training, sales and marketing functions. The company has also pioneered the development of Smart Cartridge kiosks, eye-catching portable filling stations which can be quickly set up in shopping centres and other retail environments. Customers of Smart Cartridge stores enjoy special benefits such a free local collection and delivery and a 100% no-quibble guarantee on all products. Every ink-jet and laser cartridge refilled at the store is fully tested using specially developed equipment to ensure it will work perfectly when the customer installs it in their printer. During 2008 the company plans to continue its expansion in Europe and aims to gain a significant foothold in the Middle Eastern market. Smart Cartridge is an associate member of the British Franchise Association and is committed to fostering good environmental practices throughout the organisation and the wider community.

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