Regency Design: To mark his Big Birthday year, Planet Vending has asked one of the industry’s leading figures, Regency Design Founder & CEO David Harkness, to focus on how we, as an industry, will do things differently in the future – and how Regency is at the forefront of change…
Hello, I’m David Harness.
You’re reading the second instalment in a series of articles I’m writing for Planet Vending to mark my Big Birthday. In the sign-off to my inaugural effort, I said that next time, I’d be turning my attention to the advantages of flexible solutions in convenience retailing. Not once did I mention ‘converted shipping containers’ because, well… ‘converted shipping containers’ doesn’t sound very ‘sexy’, does it?
At Regency, we can create just about anything from a shipping container. Some of the uses are pretty obvious: mobile catering solutions, pop-up retail spaces or a service site that can be taken to where the action is – you can immediately see the advantages our solution offers
But let’s get creative: remote Electric Vehicle Charging points, complete with office space; Location Catering Units, and Event and Show Management Units. Caterers in particular can invest in our solution if they’re looking to expand into new and potentially lucrative markets. We can provide everything from simple branded units to more complex, bespoke solutions to address specific requirements.
To be honest, our clients are driving the innovation as much as we are: their attitude is, could we do this?’ We all know the phrase ‘seeing is believing’ but in this case, you might say, ‘believing is seeing’. When people come to appreciate their flexibility against traditional ‘bricks and mortar’, not to mention the comparative cost savings incumbent in using them, they begin to see additional applications for Regency’s converted shipping containers.
On the subject of ‘bricks and mortar’, one of our customers investigated the feasibility of creating a ‘bricks-and-mortar’ catering satellite at one of its factories. The word used to describe the subsequent numbers was ‘extortionate’. It was, especially when they were compared to the costs of commissioning Regency to sprinkle our magic dust on a shipping container…
And when it has served its purpose at the chosen location, it can be moved on to the next one. Suffice to say, they won’t be troubling the construction companies any time soon. And before we leave the cost conversation, I should let you know that there are numerous routes available to you, should you wish to acquire one…
We’re not ‘recycling’ these redundant containers, we’re up-cycling them. I think you’ll agree, that’s a prudent and intelligent use of resources. ‘Sustainability’ is a buzzword these days, but it’s always been an important consideration for us at Regency. For example, we can give you the option of creating your container’s internal fixtures and fittings from an array of other sustainable, recyclable materials. In fact, by creating something amazing, unique and quirky that really works for your business, you might at the same time find yourself adding some useful sustainability accreditations to your credentials.
As you’ll see in the pictures, externally, these units look great by design, which brings me neatly to another benefit you might appreciate. You can change the unit’s design as often as you like. Perhaps you’re thinking, ‘hey, I could have a few of these and rent them out…’?
Meanwhile, our collaboration with Grenade is ‘full steam ahead’. We helped them launch their container solution earlier this year, and there are more potential partnerships in the pipeline. There are a lot of people out there, it seems, who share our vision for the future; which is all about making as little impact on the environment as we can, whilst still getting the job done without compromise.
See you next time. Until then, Keep Building the Future
*David Harkness is CEO of Regency Design and Print
Catch up on David’s previous article, ‘The Best is Yet to Come’, is HERE
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