Keeping up to date with what its clients want has seen Kwik Kopy Box Hill take out the group’s 2014 Franchise of the Year title, recognising the best of 103 Australian franchises.
Owners Paul and Angelina Wischer bought the Box Hill franchise as a going concern some 12 years ago, and since taking on the business have consistently made the yearly top 20 list, finally edging out the competition this year.
The husband and wife team worked to grow the business over five years to reach a consistent seven figure turnover. Paul Wischer says remaining sensitive to what clients require has kept the business evolving and growing.
“We are solutions-based. We focus on keeping an eye on what our clients want, what their expectations are, and making sure we can meet them,” he says.
“We have had to evolve our offering to incorporate things like mail fulfilment. We also do a lot of manuals and training-based work where we dispatch Australia-wide.”
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While the local business community makes up the Box Hill store’s bread and butter, delivering on its promises has won the printer work for its customers’ offices interstate and overseas; in New Zealand and as far afield as East Timor.
Kwik Kopy’s Franchise of the Year title is decided by senior management, based on sales and profit benchmarks as well as customer service, interaction with staff, suppliers and stakeholders, and network participation.
David Bell, managing director of Kwik Kopy, says the group saw five serious contenders for this year’s award, but Box Hill’s commitment to its staff and customers, as well as quality, made it stand out from its growing pool of stores.
“Paul and Angelina really are a dynamic duo – always ready to embrace innovation which they see will work for their business and add value to their clients,” he says.
“They also invest in the technology they need to produce a quality product for their customers without over capitalising.”
Wischer says he chose to join the franchise as an easy way to get into small business – with the backup of a well-established business model and support to mitigate the risks.
The couple had no printing experience but used their business acumen to grow the store – both have corporate backgrounds, with Paul working in commercial property.
He says moving into print and running their own business was, at first, a ‘big cultural shift and huge learning curve.’
Twelve years on and named Franchise of the Year, he says: “It is an acknowledgement that we are being successful within the system, and that the system has worked for us – it has been a very beneficial relationship.”
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