Cartridge World
 | |
| Private | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | Adelaide, Australia (1992) |
| Founder | Bryan Stokes |
| Headquarters | Spring Grove, Illinois, United States |
Number of locations | 1,400 stores |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Owner | Wolseley Private Equity |
| Website |
www |
Cartridge World is a business specialising in retailing ink and toner cartridges for domestic and commercial computer printers. Cartridge World also franchises these outlets. The business model is to refill OEM printer cartridges, and to sell the cartridges cheaper than the branded products.
Empty cartridges are obtained by encouraging users to recycle them in-store or elsewhere.
Company overview
Cartridge World is the world’s largest franchise network specialising in printer supplies. The company also leases printers, offers printer servicing and other office supplies.
The website refers to national headquarters offices in Adelaide, Australia; Harrogate, England; Spring Grove, Illinois, United States; and Paris, France.
The company was founded in 1992 by Bryan Stokes, as the "Australian Cartridge Company" in Adelaide, and changed the name to Cartridge World in 1999. The first store was enfranchised in 1997, and in 2007, private equity fund Wolseley Private Equity purchased the business.
In June 2013, Cartridge World UK closed their warehouse, and subcontracted supply, after asking suppliers to extend credit terms, for supplies already delivered. At the same time, a number of redundancies were made, and the head office moved from Harrogate to smaller offices.[1]
In the United Kingdom, since 2009, the network for the United Kingdom has collapsed, from nearly 300 stores, to just over 100.[2]
From the new franchises opened since 2009, very few have been successful, most have closed down, having been unable to build a customer base. However, others have left the brand, and gone independent (Yarmouth, Headingley, Dagenham, Urmston, and Pudsey).[3]
Global locations
More than 1,400 Cartridge World stores worldwide provide ink and toner cartridges, printers and related services.