The Day after Tomorrow Begins Today
What makes a print shop successful? Which business model is the
best? Organizations wanting to be successful the day after tomorrow
should start thinking about how to achieve that today. Here we
offer two case studies designed to stimulate thought. After long
planning and preparation, the German print shop Stach decided to
specialize and currently processes fewer orders with significantly
more success. Henry Luce from England, on the other hand, relies on
his partnership with the franchise chain Kall Kwik.
Business model: Specialization - Stach GmbH, Arnsberg-Neheim, Germany
Less is Sometimes More
Ever since the German print shop Stach changed its business model, nothing is how it used to be. "Today we have much less work and stress, but we are considerably more effective and, most importantly, also more productive than before. We are also much more confident in the market and we no longer need to fight for every order at all costs," explains Manager Karl Heinz Ottersbach (50), who has been directing the business with Crista Stach (43) since September 2006.
Prior to 2003, the print shop from Arnsberg-Neheim, near Dortmund, Germany, produced primarily smaller standards jobs. Because of the degree of competition, these could only be won with service and fast delivery times. Company founder Georg Stach decided on a change of strategy. The goal was to bring in more lucrative and more creative orders. The key to the plan was UV printing and high-quality coatings in short runs - on top of the speed factor that has always distinguished the company, which continues to be committed to offset printing.
Business model: Franchising - Henry Luce, Kall Kwik Exeter, Great Britain
Family Bonds
With the looming demise of the textile industry, Martin Luce decided to change careers around the end of the 1970s. He gave up his position as Manager at a well-known British textile manufacturer and founded a print shop. He and his son, Henry, who runs the business today, owe a lot of their success to the franchise chain, Kall Kwik.
Exeter, located in southwest England, owes its commercial rise to textile manufacturing in the 17th century. Thanks to the textile industry, the region developed into a center for trade and for a long time, working in this branch was a safe bet. But then along came globalization, and little by little the textile manufacturers migrated in the direction of the Far East. Around the end of the 1970s, the slow death of the business was felt everywhere, and for Martin Luce it was clear that his professional future was to be found in another industry. Printing, he realized quickly, had a future. Without prior knowledge of the field, but with a goal in sight and seed capital in his pocket, he wanted to throw himself into a new challenge - but not into an unpredictable adventure. He decided to become a franchisee at Kall Kwik. The American chain with its British headquarters in London provided him with advice on setting up the business, purchasing machines and dealing with customers. That was in 1980.
Among the Top Ten
Roughly nine years later, son Henry followed in his father's footsteps and is still running the print shop today. In the meantime, the print shop with a good million pounds in annual sales and 15 employees has advanced to the top 10 within the Kall Kwik family of franchisers - out of around 170 franchise print shops in the United Kingdom.
You can download the complete article on the top right-hand side.
Business model: Specialization - Stach GmbH, Arnsberg-Neheim, Germany
Less is Sometimes More
Ever since the German print shop Stach changed its business model, nothing is how it used to be. "Today we have much less work and stress, but we are considerably more effective and, most importantly, also more productive than before. We are also much more confident in the market and we no longer need to fight for every order at all costs," explains Manager Karl Heinz Ottersbach (50), who has been directing the business with Crista Stach (43) since September 2006.
Prior to 2003, the print shop from Arnsberg-Neheim, near Dortmund, Germany, produced primarily smaller standards jobs. Because of the degree of competition, these could only be won with service and fast delivery times. Company founder Georg Stach decided on a change of strategy. The goal was to bring in more lucrative and more creative orders. The key to the plan was UV printing and high-quality coatings in short runs - on top of the speed factor that has always distinguished the company, which continues to be committed to offset printing.
Business model: Franchising - Henry Luce, Kall Kwik Exeter, Great Britain
Family Bonds
With the looming demise of the textile industry, Martin Luce decided to change careers around the end of the 1970s. He gave up his position as Manager at a well-known British textile manufacturer and founded a print shop. He and his son, Henry, who runs the business today, owe a lot of their success to the franchise chain, Kall Kwik.
Exeter, located in southwest England, owes its commercial rise to textile manufacturing in the 17th century. Thanks to the textile industry, the region developed into a center for trade and for a long time, working in this branch was a safe bet. But then along came globalization, and little by little the textile manufacturers migrated in the direction of the Far East. Around the end of the 1970s, the slow death of the business was felt everywhere, and for Martin Luce it was clear that his professional future was to be found in another industry. Printing, he realized quickly, had a future. Without prior knowledge of the field, but with a goal in sight and seed capital in his pocket, he wanted to throw himself into a new challenge - but not into an unpredictable adventure. He decided to become a franchisee at Kall Kwik. The American chain with its British headquarters in London provided him with advice on setting up the business, purchasing machines and dealing with customers. That was in 1980.
Among the Top Ten
Roughly nine years later, son Henry followed in his father's footsteps and is still running the print shop today. In the meantime, the print shop with a good million pounds in annual sales and 15 employees has advanced to the top 10 within the Kall Kwik family of franchisers - out of around 170 franchise print shops in the United Kingdom.
You can download the complete article on the top right-hand side.
pdf Document
Here you may download the complete article in pdf format in English, French or Spanish.
Neheimer Druckerei Stach e.K.
Further information about the print shop is available here (German only). Homepage
Kall Kwick Exeter
Further information about the print shop is available here. Homepage
