This means the opening of another 200 stores in the next two to three years: an ambitious goal, which can only be achieved by partnering with ambitious and talented franchise owners.
In short, if you are reading this and interested in becoming your own boss with a well-performing, recession-proof franchise business, CeX could well be the one for you.
Across the UK, there are many growth areas, with Wales and Scotland particularly identified as markets that will provide lucrative opportunities for multi-site ownership: perfect for those that seek to grow their CeX empire.
Alan Wilkinson, UK Franchising Boss, comments: “CeX’s stores are popular with customers and franchise owners alike in cities, suburbs and smaller towns. The business’ successful track record has proven that towns with a population of 20,000 upwards are suitable for a thriving CeX store. Investment starts from just £40,000 capital plus the ability to raise the balance (total investment of £150,000 to £250,000) of which most will go towards stock and shop fitting.”
Simply put, this is an affordable franchise, with a real chance of strong returns. Even if you do not have the full amount saved, as many won’t, CeX’s business model is well understood by the UK’s commercial banks, who are confident in its ability to generate profit and therefore willing to loan up to 70 per cent of total start up costs.
On a larger scale, and for those established business owners with local market knowledge across Europe and further afield, CeX also has Master Licence opportunities available. Franchise owners looking to take on a Master Licence, and who have the requisite financial resources, a proven track record in running large national retail networks and a sound understanding of the disciplines required to manage substantial projects of this nature.
Whatever your ambition and available funding, CeX in 2015 has the opportunity for you.
Always on trendAs a company, CeX never stands still, and is constantly monitoring market trends in technology and entertainment, in order to continue developing the franchise opportunity and covering all bases in its efforts to generate profits for investors.
Recently, it has identified that more than half a million Brits received a mobile phone for Christmas 2014: the majority of which come with smartphone capability.
As people switch out their old phones for such new models, the UK mobile handset recycling market is set to grow from 6.7 million devices last year to more than 16 million devices by 2018, and CeX is perfectly placed to take a slice of this trend.
On the gaming side, the latest console releases from Sony and Microsoft (PS4 and Xbox One) already having gained traction in the market with massive growth in their user-bases as consumers go ‘next gen’, will see further growth in 2015. For CeX franchise owners, this means more trade-ins of older consoles, but more importantly, much larger numbers of new game titles being exchanged, with a higher profit margin than the older iterations.
The wearable tech world is also set to be given a huge boost by the launch of the new Apple smartwatch. This is predicted to propel wearable technology into the mainstream, popularising the technology in the same way that the company did the touchscreen smartphone and tablet computer. Again, wearables is a market where CeX has strategised ahead to maximise profit.
Finally, the launch of Microsoft’s Windows 10 platform in the summer will see many users upgrading their PCs to benefit from new features including the built in personal assistant, Cortana, leaving good profit to be made on trade-in resales for CeX franchise owners.
With these numerous developments in key markets, and the vision of the company’s mission for its investors, it is clear why there has never been a better year to jump on-board as the boss of your own CeX franchise!