Posted:23-August-2024
Every Moment is a Fresh Beginning
Simon Parker is the Card Connection franchisee for Shrewsbury/Stoke on Trent and Macclesfield. The Shrewsbury/Stoke on Trent territory was originally purchased back in 2006 by Simon’s father Bob Parker, who sadly passed away earlier this year. Bob ran the territory as a family affair until 2014 when Simon took over the reins.
The Covid pandemic was a challenging time for Simon as he was off the road during the initial lockdown. His Picker at the time decided to retire early due to shielding her family. This could have put Simon in a difficult position, but instead he decided to take this opportunity to add extra efficiencies to the business. He purchased a bigger van to work directly out of, so no new picking staff were required and that vastly reduced his overheads.
In December 2023, whilst Simon was kindly managing Macclesfield, a company owned territory, he started to see the potential of increasing overall profits by adding an additional territory. In May 2024, Simon purchased Macclesfield. He now runs his larger territory with help from his Mum and a further merchandiser Elizabeth.
Simon commented “It has been a hectic time since taking on the additional territory. Just getting to grips with new customers and learning the most efficient routes to store has been tough. I am still trying to get into some sort of regular routine.
What I can say is that Card Connection have been amazing, they have supported me all the way including rolling up their sleeves to help me merchandise my stores which has been a great help and taken some of the pressure off.
Looking forward, I can see that the hours I am putting in will settle down and sales are booming, so my overall profits have greatly increased which was a large part of the reasoning to expand. So, as it stands it was the right business decision to make and totally worthwhile.”
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