New office supplies venture for graphics firm

The business, based at Tockwith, near York, has set up a new website under the name of Graphics Office, to compliment its existing range of graphics products.

Graphics Direct founder Chris Booth said: “We aim to attract new customers who don’t order graphics supplies online, on the basis of our value and service, and existing customers now get a one stop shop from a supplier they have known and trusted for years.

“Last year we shipped in excess of 15,000 orders to customers across the UK, including many businesses, studios and educational establishments, which are high-volume consumers of office products as well as graphics supplies. We have launched Graphics Office to extend our service and value offering to the stationery products market,” he added.

The website was developed by Graphics Direct’s in-house web development team. It allows corporate customers to negotiate bespoke “shopping lists” and special rates for favourite products.

Director Paul Hawkridge added: “We have built a great reputation for our service within the graphics sector, and we were in the enviable position of our customers actively seeking to
deal with us to supply other products.

“The platform that we are using, through a deal with office supplies specialist Vow Europe, gives us the broadest range in the market, but enables our customers to shop online for both specialist graphics as well as stationery.

“Our customers get the reassurance that they will still be dealing with us, and getting the same level of service that they are used to.”

The new website marks the company’s second major diversification in as many years, and its first entry into a new online retail market since the Graphics Direct website was launched in 1998.

Graphics Direct now employs a total of eight staff including
web designers, logistics, warehouse and customer service staff. The business reported a 60 per cent increase in turnover to more than £1.6m in its last financial year.