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<p style="font-style: normal;">These days, all signs point to the end of mega-retailers:  Borders Books and Music shuttered in 2011; Circuit City called it quits in 2009; Office Depot and OfficeMax were purchased by Staples, cutting the number of players in the office-supply sector.  Now, Barnes &amp; Noble is even teetering on the brink of extinction.</p><div>&nbsp;But for Darin Kraetsch, Alan Woods and Brian Curin, founders of the popular franchise brand Flip Flop Shops, where one giant retailer door closes, another virtual door opens.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>In 2012, they launched an online office-supply portal called <a href="http://franchise.officezilla.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=officezilla-helps-new-businesses-find-right-supplies-2749" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">OfficeZilla</a>. Shortly after, they were noticed by United Stationers, a distributor with a $750 million office-supply inventory and 30 U.S. warehouses. Together, they turned OfficeZilla into a franchise that marries new technology with the kind of quality customer service seen before the days of big-box retailers.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>According to Kraetsch, their business works like this: E-commerce leads from OfficeZilla are fed to local franchisees, who then follow up with businesses to help them buy the right products&#8212;from pens and notebooks to janitorial supplies&#8212;in the right quantities.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The model has already attracted 19 U.S. franchisees, with more on the way.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div><span style=" ">&#8220;In a short period, we&#8217;ve seen a very competitive marketplace among big-box stores dwindle,&#8221; Kraetsch </span><span style=" ">said&nbsp;</span><span style=" ">in an article published in </span><em style=" "><a href="http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/251432?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=officezilla-helps-new-businesses-find-right-supplies-2749" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Entrepreneur</a></em><span style=" ">. &#8220;That&#8217;s one of the things we hope to capitalize on. We hope to disrupt the space they have left open for small and medium-size business that Staples can&#8217;t afford to service.&#8221;</span></div>

1851 Franchise

Brand helps owners purchase the right products and quantities to cut office costs.

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