The Worldwide franchisor business was bought out of administration last week by acquisition vehicle Doublewest Corporation, led by Crystal Printing Solutions director Arnold Whiteside.
Whiteside told ProPrint: “We will just focus on the fundamentals of the model that Clive Denholm created and stick to our knitting for the period that it will take to stabilise the business. Our intention will be in assisting the franchisees to become more profitable and fulfil their desires going forward.” .
“The hub-and-spoke model is flourishing,” he said, adding that the franchise network was fully behind the model.
He said the Cannington hub was “big enough to support what’s required. The group has always purchased product from other suppliers. The Cannington facility has been the main producer of the colour product for 10 years.”
Whiteside added: “In the short term, Cannington will be the sole provider but it our intention to find some strategic partner, in the East Coast to supplement [the work],” he added.
Crystal Printing remained the main supplier to Worldwide throughout the 14-week administration. The Sydney facility, which was focused on what Whiteside termed “non-standard product”, was closed down and kit auctioned off. A digital hub in Queensland was “closed really quickly”.
Whiteside’s experience with the franchise stretches back 30, when he began with Snap, and became one of the original part owners of Worldwide with Clive Denholm, selling out to Nevis Capital Partners four years ago. Whiteside’s plan to acquire his former company only arose midway into the administration.
“The day that they [administrators McGrath Nicol] walked into our factory – which houses the Worldwide Online hub in Cannington – they were there to close down all of the manufacturing around the country.
“We were able to get them to take us on to supply the product from Cannington to the group. The weeks following that was when we decided to have a crack at purchasing the franchisor business,” he said.
Click here for the latest headlines from across the printing industry.
Comment below to have your say on this story.
If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.
Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter