The UK’s first Signarama Light opens its doors
Published: 23 February 2018
Signarama has opened the first Signarama Light showroom in the UK in Salford, having revealed the concept in 2017.
New operator Keddy Banda says: "We are thrilled to have officially opened the doors of our Signarama Light; the opportunity to expand our business through the Light model was too good to miss. You get all the benefits of the franchise in terms of training and support but on a low-investment, high-return-on-investment basis. It's win-win for us!"
Designed to offer a more affordable entry into the UK's booming signage market, Signarama Light showrooms are fully fitted out like all other Signarama centres but don't have any production equipment on site. As a result, the required building footprint is much smaller and therefore attracts lower rental and business rates, keeping costs to a minimum.
Signage and graphics production is outsourced to top-quality national and local suppliers – including existing franchisees in the Signarama network – meaning there's no need for an in-house production and design workforce. Consequently, Signarama Light franchisees can focus on meeting customers and driving the business forward through sales and strategic development.
A further benefit of the Light model is that franchisees can choose to upgrade to full production facilities as they grow or, as Keddy and the team plan to, open a network of Light showrooms that can feed a central production centre.
Keddy says: "Our main Signarama showroom in Preston handles all production in-house. We have a fantastic team there and together, we're focused on building an empire of Light showrooms in nearby territories, with Preston being the hub. I think the flexibility of the model is going to be really appealing to people because of how many different ways you can grow and expand as a business."
Signarama now has over 900 franchisees in 60 countries. With the introduction of the Signarama Light model, the UK network is taking the first steps towards its mission for the future: to be the UK's leading signage brand and the go-to solution for all businesses seeking to improve their brand visibility.
Aliyyah-Begum Nasser, Signarama's UK managing director, adds: "We're very excited for the Signarama Salford team – it's just the beginning of a new era in Signarama's UK history. The Light model is really grabbing the attention of aspiring business owners as well as those already in the sector. It opens up the industry to a much wider audience, including younger generations keen to get into business ownership but previously priced out of the market."
