I am aiming at having a £1 million turnover by the end of my first year

Summary of Operation

Retailer of second hand electronic and digital entertainment products. CeX trade in videogames, DVDs, mobile phones, digital electronics, computing, vision products and music CDs.

Before opening his CeX store in Ashford, the retail industry had always been part of Dishal Patel's DNA as his father had been running his own shop businesses for more than 30 years.

"I used to help out in my dad's shops when I was younger and always knew that one day I would follow in his footsteps," explains Dishal, 24. "However, I decided to lay firm foundations for my future so I got my degree and worked for an investment management company for two years.

"During that time I also investigated franchising as I knew that would be the best way to own my own business. After looking at a number of franchise opportunities like McDonalds, Subway and KFC, I decided it was the CeX business model which really stood out.

"I was lucky as CeX opened a store near one of my dad's shops in Tooting and he knew the parents of the owner Rakesh Mazumdar, so I got talking to them about CeX and had a three-day trial at that shop to find out if I was happy about working in that environment."

Dishal then contacted CeX head office and visited a number of the stores and was impressed by the company's rapid growth, the stores' turnovers and how popular they were with the customers.

"My training was excellent and proved a great foundation on which to get my business up and running," says Dishal. "CeX are really good in that they let their franchise owners do their on-site training in a location which is convenient to them."

Dishal Patel launched his store on May 15 and hasn't looked back since. "It's been really good but it has been a lot of work balancing running a business and managing a shop for the first time - it's been very challenging but enjoyable at the same time," he says.

"My opening day was tremendous and my first two weeks were way beyond my expectations and my store has been well received by customers. Other traders, including the Starbucks next door, have praised my CeX business for helping to increase the footfall on the street."

It may still be early days for his already-thriving franchise but Dishal has laid down a goal for his future at CeX. "I am aiming at having a £1 million turnover by the end of my first year and after that I hope to open another store - Kent has lots of potential locations for expansion," he says.

Reported by Fraser McKay