“It feels great to finally have the wheels in motion once again,” said Glasgow franchisee Malcolm McArdle
Just a few months later than originally planned, two PACK & SEND franchisees are finally preparing to launch the latest centres for the UK’s leading packaging and shipping franchise. Based in Glasgow and Woolwich, the eager entrepreneurs had to press pause on their business launches, but the easing of lockdown measures has meant they can go full steam ahead with their centre opening plans.
Malcolm McArdle is the franchisee running the show in Glasgow, which will be the second Scotland site following the launch of Edinburgh East in 2014. He is confident that PACK & SEND was the franchise for him and seeing the brand’s resilience throughout the last five months has only strengthened his decision.
“It feels great to finally have the wheels in motion once again,” said Malcolm. “I was excited to be launching my business so when the country plunged into lockdown, I was disheartened, to say the least. What was so enlightening about this situation though was seeing the existing network dealing with the challenges and just how robust the business model was. With that confidence, I knew I could replicate that same success with my own service centre.”
Malcolm joins as regular business is beginning to resume for the brand, however, lockdown revealed some additional revenue streams for existing franchisees. Initially, as people were forced to establish a home-working space, IT equipment, office supplies and furniture had no choice but to be shipped. PACK & SEND franchisees rose to the challenge to provide a safe and secure solution, assisting in setting up home offices across the UK.
Next came a new level of interest from international students. Whilst franchisees had previously shipped student belongings from overseas to UK student digs, COVID-19 caused a heightened sense of panic for those students needing to get themselves home but leaving behind their possessions. PACK & SEND franchisees worked closely with accommodation teams, students and parents to repatriate their belongings and help alleviate some stress. Malcolm is delighted to be able to utilise these potential business opportunities in the future.
“Being able to restart the launch process again and finally open the doors to my service centre feels amazing. I spent the last couple of weeks at the Reading service centre for my official in-store induction, getting to grips with daily operations. The protocols and procedures in place will assure customers that we’re a safe place to visit. I’ve already seen a steady flow of enquiries from customers which is great.”
The Woolwich service centre will see Peter Johnson at the helm of the business and is set in the background of Greenwich, with London’s docklands just a stone’s throw away. It is the second site to open post-lockdown and is set at the heart of the buzzing community.
CEO of PACK & SEND UK, Mike Ryan, was thrilled to see new centres opening alongside those franchisees who have been serving their communities throughout the pandemic. He said: “We’re welcoming back some of our regular business as the doors of galleries and auctions houses open back up. It’s great to see Malcolm and Peter begin their own journeys as business owners with PACK & SEND who can take advantage of both our traditional customers and the new relationships we’ve built over lockdown. Perhaps the most exciting thing about emerging from lockdown is the number of prospective franchisees planning the launch of their service centres within the coming months. It really does demonstrate how lucrative the logistics industry is, even in times of economic turmoil.”