Here franchisees from three of the group's brands, Mail Boxes Etc., PACK & SEND and World Options, explain the differing attractions of each, both for customers, and for entrepreneurial individuals, based on the type of franchise business they want to run.
Perhaps the most well-known of the MBE Worldwide brands with the general public - possibly due to the sheer number of high street service centres it has across the UK - Mail Boxes Etc. is very much a physical one-stop-shop for a wide range of business requirements.
As well as its mailbox services, all Mail Boxes Etc. service centres also provide managed shipping, printing and marketing solutions, and a range of other business services, covering everything from document shredding to ecommerce.
Mumtaz Hussain owns the Mail Boxes Etc. franchise in Leeds city centre, alongside her husband and her brother-and-sister-in-law.
Following a successful career in technology PR and marketing, working in the UK and Europe with big brands including Dell and Microsoft, Mumtaz was also a freelance PR consultant for several years until she and her family decided to move into the franchise business.
"We had an amazing handover from the previous owners who had run the centre for 14 years. They were very generous with their time, allowing us to shadow them, so that from day one we could replicate what they had been doing and then gradually evolve the business in line with our own plans. And of course we had lots of support and training from head office."
Asked what surprised her when taking over the centre, Mumtaz says it was the sheer variety. "You have everything from design and print to parcel shipping. And at that point I'd had zero exposure to the Auction Logistics side of the business. Just discovering all the different types of things people buy at auction was a real revelation."
Antiques and auction house shipping is now her main focus. "We are fortunate in that we have five or six local auction houses that we collect from on a regular basis. We work extremely hard to service them and our individual customers too.
"An increased focus on the B2B space is definitely something we're keen on, and is very much encouraged by head office, who are very dynamic in training us and giving us the tools and the opportunity to go out and pitch to larger businesses."
While also part of an extensive network of customer-welcoming service centres, PACK & SEND, has a particular specialist focus on secure and safe shipping of fragile, large, awkward and valuable items.
As an approved service provider to LAPADA, the largest association of professional art and antiques dealers in the UK, it is a preferred supplier of art shipping services to galleries, collectors, dealers, artists and exhibitions around the world, and its franchisees have handled packing and shipping of artworks by some of the world's most famous artists, including Banksy, Damien Hirst, Andy Warhol, Tracey Emin and Jeff Koons.
By the time she joined the PACK & SEND group in November 2021, Kholbie Jones had already established a successful career in retail management.
Now as centre manager at PACK & SEND Reading, managing a staff of four, she says: "Every day is different at PACK & SEND. We have the unique opportunity to pack and ship items that I would never have come across before, from taxidermy to antiques and high-value artwork such as Banksy prints. I also really enjoy customer service. Providing an end-to-end solution for our customers and seeing the whole job through, from the point of initial enquiry to the final delivery, is a great feeling.
"Our customers are reunited with items bequeathed from their loved ones, or we can help make their household move a lot less stressful by packing and shipping their belongings. We hear fascinating stories about where the things have come from, where they have travelled or what customers plan to do with them.
"We don't just pack and ship, either. We also take care of everything, whether that's permits or licences, customs documents or handling items that are seen by carriers as more contentious. This means everyone who works here needs to retain a lot of information and pick it up quickly."
"We are always looking to expand our customer base too. I regularly go out to different areas and talk with local businesses about the services we offer and how we can assist them. We would like to explore more of the B2B market within certain target verticals such as medical equipment suppliers and IT companies."
While Mail Boxes Etc. and PACK & SEND are built around a network of customer-facing service centres, World Options appeals to franchisees who are happy to work from home, or who are looking for an online addition to an existing business.
Managed through a network of over 100 franchised offices across the UK, the World Options portal provides a complete shipping solution, allowing customers to compare, book and track national and international shipments of parcels, pallets, freight transport, documents and imports, with customer service provided by a dedicated account manager.
Since launching as a World Options franchise in September 2022, Jack Fisher has expanded the business to a team of four and moved into larger offices to allow for further expansion.
The new move and team growth comes on the back of Jack achieving over one million pounds in sales in his first year after launching his World Options franchise, as an addition to his existing business based in Daventry.
On moving into the new premises, Jack said: "When shipping parcels worldwide, businesses can be confounded by the number of options available and can often stick to one courier service, even though that might not be the best option every time.
"World Options offers customers the opportunity to ship domestically and internationally with the likes of DHL, FedEx, UPS, TNT, Royal Mail and more. With our user-friendly portal, we help businesses choose the right option for every individual shipment, and provide human customer service to assist with tracking parcels on their journey, based on the higher service level agreements we have in place with all the major couriers.
"Crucially, we also help with paperwork to help minimise the risk of delays with customs when shipping to different territories overseas, while our bulk-buying power means customers always pay a competitive price for their shipping, whether that be for parcels, pallets, freight transport, documents or imports, either nationally or internationally.
"As the global economy gets more and more connected, and with the boom in ecommerce, the courier industry is a very vibrant marketplace and looks set to grow further. Based on our expansion so far, we're hoping to grow our operations further here, potentially creating up to five further jobs over the next three years."
For further information on all three franchises, please visit:
