Michael and Claire Welham, Franchisees, Kingston/Twickenham
Michael and I have owned and run the Kingston/Twickenham area since May 2010, but my experience of 
OPC began a year before in May 2009, when I started in employment as a merchandiser/developer working directly for OPC.
The area had not been well managed for some time and so my first priority was to build relationships with the existing accounts through a monthly merchandising visit. Through those regular visits I began to grow sales by adding additional ranges and gaining more space, as well as simply bringing the existing displays up to standard. Throughout this time I found the whole OPC team very welcoming and supportive. As I got to know the market, I began to see the opportunity that existed within the area.
Michael had been made redundant from a General Manager position within the motor trade several months before and the time he had spent at home with our young son had made him re-evaluate what he wanted from his next job. We began to consider the possibility of buying the franchise and having the flexibility of running our own business, and did so in May 2010.
Since we took over we have focussed our initial efforts on development within our existing accounts. In the first 6 months we have added 1700 pockets and gained 12 new stores, some of these from referrals, and some from prospecting. By analysing the sales information in existing accounts, we have been able to discuss in detail the performance of each range with the shop owners, building their trust in us, and as a result we have got more ranges into many shops and have seen the resulting sales increase. We have become the sole greeting card suppliers in a number of these stores as the owners have recognised that we deliver a reliable and professional service. We have grown our annualised sales from 34000 to approx 57000 now. Some of the sales gain has also come as a result of updating the display equipment.
We have found the first few months to be very hard work and at times frustrating, but have also been encouraged by the growth that we’ve seen and the thrill of starting to open some new accounts. The benefits of self-employment are great and we now have a good work life balance and manage our workload around our family life. We are looking forward to developing our business over the coming years and reaping the benefits of our hard work!
OPC began a year before in May 2009, when I started in employment as a merchandiser/developer working directly for OPC.The area had not been well managed for some time and so my first priority was to build relationships with the existing accounts through a monthly merchandising visit. Through those regular visits I began to grow sales by adding additional ranges and gaining more space, as well as simply bringing the existing displays up to standard. Throughout this time I found the whole OPC team very welcoming and supportive. As I got to know the market, I began to see the opportunity that existed within the area.
Michael had been made redundant from a General Manager position within the motor trade several months before and the time he had spent at home with our young son had made him re-evaluate what he wanted from his next job. We began to consider the possibility of buying the franchise and having the flexibility of running our own business, and did so in May 2010.
Since we took over we have focussed our initial efforts on development within our existing accounts. In the first 6 months we have added 1700 pockets and gained 12 new stores, some of these from referrals, and some from prospecting. By analysing the sales information in existing accounts, we have been able to discuss in detail the performance of each range with the shop owners, building their trust in us, and as a result we have got more ranges into many shops and have seen the resulting sales increase. We have become the sole greeting card suppliers in a number of these stores as the owners have recognised that we deliver a reliable and professional service. We have grown our annualised sales from 34000 to approx 57000 now. Some of the sales gain has also come as a result of updating the display equipment.
We have found the first few months to be very hard work and at times frustrating, but have also been encouraged by the growth that we’ve seen and the thrill of starting to open some new accounts. The benefits of self-employment are great and we now have a good work life balance and manage our workload around our family life. We are looking forward to developing our business over the coming years and reaping the benefits of our hard work!
