Worldwide Printing Solutions has closed the doors of the Mt Waverley franchise and merged the business with its Preston office. The move leaves Worldwide Printing with three remaining sites in the Melbourne area and 44 franchises nationally.
“Print is a tough business and there’s a lot of competition right now,” said David Allison, Worldwide Printing’s state support manager for Victoria/New South Wales. “The Mt Waverley office has been closed and we have vacated the premises, which were probably too big for what we needed. But the owner Vicki Ramage and her team are still operating, using the Preston office as a base, and servicing regular clients, including those from the Preston and St Kilda offices.”
The move comes as the big players in the printing services franchise sector, including Snap, Minuteman and Kwik Kopy, continue to make the transistion from digital printing to marketing services.
“It’s a competitive, saturated market,” said Allison. “We now have about 43 or 44 franchises nationally, where three years ago we probably had 49 or 50. Some of that is natural mergers into superhubs and not necessarily closures. We’re definitely looking to expand but it needs to be done in a professional way and we’ve very selective about what we do. It’s very important to have the right people with quality experience and dedication.
“You can’t expect new business to come flooding in and you need to get out and engage with customers. Whoever you talk to in printing these days stresses the need to go out and win new business every year. Printers are looking at alternative ways to supplement income, whether its web design or merchandising or other services. I’m an optimist about the future and we'll continue to go out and win new business.”
Worldwide Printing Solutions was established in Western Australia in 1995 and has since expanded into Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia.