Mike Ryan is CEO at the UK’s leading packaging and shipping franchise, PACK & SEND. This month’s franchise diary reflects on their experience of lockdown and the network’s response.
At the beginning of the year, when I wrote my last franchise diary, we’d got off to a great start. In January, PACK & SEND welcomed 2020 with new franchisees launching their service centre in Hall Green, Birmingham. Then, in the following month, we celebrated completing 10 years of business here in the UK, creating a British arm of the franchise from our original Australian franchisor 2009.
Then March came around and we all know what happened then. Although there were two PACK & SEND service centres in the process of opening, the pandemic kicked all of that to the curb. Despite these launches being placed on hold, the rest of the network didn’t show any signs of slowing down. In fact, things started to accelerate, demonstrating the resilience of our business model and our franchisees. If you’re not too familiar with PACK & SEND, our franchisees provide solutions for those wishing to send any items anywhere in the world and we specialise in bespoke packing and delivery solutions for the weird, wonderful and precious things our customers bring into our centres. So, whilst our centres were closed temporarily, our franchisees fulfilled shipping requests online and then set to converting their centres to accept items for packing in a socially distanced scenario.
Not only did our franchisees experience an upturn in enquiries as businesses turned to online sales and delivery solutions but they also found other niche markets opened up. Whilst our franchisees have supported many international students moving to and from university accommodation, lockdown introduced a new level of interest. As students rushed to reach home before airports closed, they had no choice but to leave their possessions in student digs, not knowing when they’d be able to return. Once it was clear that they would not be able to return before the end of term, we worked with university accommodation teams and individual students to repatriate their belongings.
After multiple dealings with stressed out students and parents who showed complete relief in the knowledge that their possessions would return in a safe and secure way, we decided to launch a bursary for international students. Awarded to an international student who will embark on their studies in the upcoming academic year, we wanted to recognise the positive impact they can make whilst living in the UK.
Lockdown allowed us to unearth another business opportunity, as people were forced to establish a home-working space – meaning IT equipment, office supplies and furniture had no choice but to be shipped. As always, franchisees rose to the challenge to provide a safe and secure solution, helping to set up home offices across the UK. And as lockdown eases, we’ve seen bookings to return that equipment back to offices whilst others have chosen to expand their home offices having found that working from home can be their new normal.
For our two franchisees who put their business launches on hold, we’re now full steam ahead as we find and fit-out their centres, continuing our training programme with the safe practices we’re becoming so used to now. The Glasgow service centre is being completed as I type and will be our second site in Scotland, following the launch of Edinburgh East in 2014. Set in the background of Greenwich in London, and with the docklands just a stone’s throw away, the Woolwich service centre is the second of those to open post-lockdown. At the heart of a buzzing community with a diverse range of customers, we’re excited to see what weird and wonderful items come through the doors for us to pack and send.
Looking ahead, our regular business is making a welcome comeback. With the doors of galleries and auction houses opening back up, franchisees are experiencing an influx of enquiries once again. We’re also in talks with other prospective franchisees hoping to launch their service centres before the year is out. With details still under wraps, I hope to have more news in my next diary instalment.
