ADELAIDE, South Australia – CityWest Print & Office Supplies has been sold by Peter Tabe to new Minuteman Press franchise owners Mehul Sanghvi and Sachin Desai. Minuteman Press in Adelaide continues to operate out of the same location: Unit 1, 282 Gouger Street, Adelaide, South Australia, 5000, Australia.
On selling the business, Peter Tabe shares, “I was introduced to Minuteman Press Regional VP Glenn Coyle through Fujifilm. I had thought about selling but did not place the business on market at all, working solely with Glenn Coyle following our first meeting. When Glenn advised he had prospective purchasers interested, I then had the business valued. If we could agree on a purchase price, terms and conditions, without relying on a selling agent, I believed the process would be simpler and more cost effective than going to market.”
Peter continues, “I engaged my own lawyer to handle the contract, lease and conveyancing, however it was helpful and reassuring to have Glenn as a conduit between myself and the purchasers. The sale process went smoothly and I have been happy to remain in contact over the ensuing months, to assist the purchasers and my staff, who remained onboard.”
On the transition, Peter adds, “I would like to thank Glenn for his input and advice. I found him to be very professional and knowledgeable of the print industry and easy to contact at all times. If you are considering selling your printing business, it is certainly worth a call to Minuteman Press International.”
On buying the business, Mehul Sanghvi shares, “Minuteman Press, especially Glenn, was really positive and patient throughout the process. So, it was an absolute joy to work with Minuteman Press on the sale. They made the process so easy and were with us in every part of the process. Since we were buying an established business, they used their extensive industry and business experience and made it very easy for us.”
History & Sale of the Business
Peter reflects on the history of CityWest prior to the sale. He says, “I purchased the business as a Copyfax Stationers franchise in February of 2004. At this time, it was predominately a stationery (office supplies) reseller, with under 20% of turnover being print-related. Over the ensuing time we worked with Fujifilm, HP and third-party provider CMYK Hub to increase our printing capabilities, concentrating on the b2b, education, training, hospitality and arts sectors.”
He continues, “In 2019, the franchise was terminated by mutual agreement and renamed CityWest Print & Office Supplies. At the time of sale to Minuteman Press, the business mix was substantially more skewed towards print and associated services, now accounting for around 70% of turnover.”
Mehul Sanghvi is one of the primary owners of Minuteman Press in South Adelaide. Mehul shares how he learned about CityWest Print & Office Supplies: “Glenn Coyle from Minuteman Press had an enquiry related to the sale of CityWest, which was located in the area we were looking at as well to possibly open a new franchise. Everything fell into place, and we ended up buying an established business and converted that to our Minuteman Press store.”
Mehul adds, “The major reason we chose to buy CityWest is that we knew we were buying a well-established business that was 20 years old in the field. With clients that have been loyal to the business and had been working with them for years, this gave us an option to hit the ground running. There was work to do and orders flowing into our shop from the very first day.”
Welcome to Minuteman Press, Adelaide
Prior to franchising with Minuteman Press International, Mehul shares, “My last job before franchising was in a bank working my way through the normal customer service team to operations and insurance sales in the end. But back in India, I had experience of approximately 12 years in the field of advertising, previously working on the ad agency side and then moving to the marketing/advertising teams in various corporates. So, I have a background that is closely related to print and design.”
Mehul lays out the following three key reasons why they chose Minuteman Press:
· Minuteman Press is the biggest print franchise in the world;
· The ways you can earn through different revenue streams have unlimited potential;
· The support we received during the purchasing process from Glenn Coyle was unbelievable. Glenn was always positive and patient with us, which is commendable.
Since buying the business, Mehul is also happy with the support he and his team have received as being part of the Minuteman Press franchise family. He says, “The initial support for setting up the store and training in-store was beyond our expectations. Our setup was unique since we are not just a print store, we also have a division that deals in office supplies so there were a lot of things that our field rep had to think and do on the job and he did a tremendous job. Kudos to him and Glenn and the Minuteman Press team.”
Additional Insights on Buying a Printing Business
Six months into his new venture, Mehul further shares the following key insights:
Owning a Business: “We are known to be business owners back in India. So, owning this is an accomplishment in our community especially when it’s a specialized business like printing. It makes us feel very proud and gives us a special place in our community as most of the business owners will need some sort of printing done and they want someone who they know and talk to related to their printing requirements. We are here to educate them and teach them to understand printing and how we can help their businesses.”
How Printing Helps Local Businesses: “I feel that printing is still the easiest form of conventional marketing which is a very effective tool even in today’s digital world. For local businesses, printing can help target specific audiences effectively and it can help the businesses reach their potential customers in a more personal and direct manner. This can also help increase their chances of sales and conversions.”
Being a Business Owner vs. Having a Job: “Being a business owner gives me the freedom of being my own boss and make my own decisions. It’s still early in our ownership of the business but I feel going forward it will lead to more opportunities and financial security. It does give an opportunity to have a work life balance, choose my own hours of work and to have more control over my work life. Owning this business will also provide me opportunities for career growth and a potential to earn more money than I would in a job. It will also give me the opportunity to pursue my goals.”
Advice for Others: “There are always pros and cons to everything we do in life. One has to just weigh them before buying a business and see whether it’s a positive or negative thing for them, taking into account their current situations. Owing a business is definitely hard work but when everything falls in place you start thinking of future opportunities. Until you take the leap and jump into it, you’ll never know.”