Case Study - Martin and Jane Tillsley

Having been made redundant due to business relocation, one of OPC's married couples, Martin and Jane Tillsley, bought a large franchise area in Birmingham with scope for development. Consistent top performers within the OPC network, the Tillsley's successful personal relationship has filtered into their business, bringing about the revival of a once neglected franchise area. Martin talks about the initial purchase of their territory and what they did to boost its profits.

We invested in our OPC franchise in 2001 about a year after being made redundant from the engineering company we'd worked at for 15 years, and also the place we first met. Straight after being made redundant, Jane and I got new jobs at separate companies, but within six months discovered it wasn't what either of us wanted. We decided to look for a franchise at an exhibition in London, and just as we were about to leave the exhibition, the OPC stand and greeting cards caught our eye. We went over and spoke to somebody at the stand, and shortly after went for a meeting down at Elephant House, OPC's Support Office in Surrey. In the meeting we discovered that the Birmingham territory was up for sale, and we decided to buy it. At first, running the territory was quite hard because the previous franchisee had taken his eye off the ball, and around half the sites weren't profitable. We therefore had to spend quite a bit of time regaining control, and we put together a careful business plan mapping out the first 12 months of operation. Since then, we've grown the business from 47 profitable sites to 155. When we first started, OPC only produced two ranges of cards, which were Elephant House and Animal Magic, so the selection was limited. However, today, OPC produces a much wider selection of cards including, among others: birthday, humour, seasonal, occasional, and a new metallic range that is proving extremely popular. There are also a variety of gift-wrap and bottle bags that do well. This increase in the variety of products is something that has certainly helped Jane and I develop the business. For example, in our first month of operation we sold just 1,500 cards. Today we're shifting 10,500 a month.

One of the best things about being an OPC franchisee is that, because we're working for ourselves, we can set our own goals for the business.This does require self-discipline, but it provides more control and allows us to move the business forward at our own pace. Jane and I are always planning between one and three months ahead, a strategy that has enabled us to carefully adapt the development of our territory. We're lucky because we work well as a team. We go out and merchandise together, and while Jane is taking the cards off of the display stands and sorting them out, I go and get new stock and complete any paperwork that needs doing. The great thing about working together is that we're able to support each other and share the ups and downs. We're also able to bounce ideas off each other. With 155 customers, some would say that our territory is doing very well, but we'd like it to do even better. Roughly once a week, while Jane stays at home and picks the cards, I'll drive around areas I haven't been to before looking for new sites, keeping a record of where I go and who I speak to so that I can follow up on any leads later. In addition to site quantity, site quality is important, and this means getting more displays and stock into good existing accounts. Getting retailers to take more cards usually means that sales go up while travelling times,distances,and the number of calls I have to make go down.

Another way to streamline the efficiency of the business is to sometimes cut back. For example, if you've got an outlet with a display that's only selling ten to twenty cards a month, it's usually better to take the stock and display out and put it somewhere else. It's important to handle this kind of business decision sensitively with the customer, but you have to be resilient sometimes to do what is best for your franchise. Other qualities you need as a franchisee include the ability to provide a good level of customer service, some commercial savvy so that you can provide the business with a sound structure, and the ability to plan ahead. On the practical side of things, it's also important to have a good-sized space to organise stock. Initially, Jane and I used a converted bedroom in our house, but we had to keep carrying stock up and down the stairs, which was far from ideal.Today, we have a converted garage with proper shelving, so it's a safer, more efficient, and more professional set up. Like any business, starting an OPC franchise isn't easy; while you have support and a system to follow, you've still got to work hard to be successful. Buying a resale is also different to buying a new franchise territory because there's an existing business in place already. It's important to look at what stage the business is at to see how much room there is for development. If you're going to take a territory that is flagging a bit, for whatever reason, and give it a boost, you're going to need to invest more money to buy extra stock, and this is something that any new franchisee needs to take into consideration.