20 years of classic designing-Keep it classic with Classic Design! |23 May 2011
Mr Woodcock has been in the printing and designing business for 20 years now and among the many types of computers in his office is the treasured small Macintosh (Apple) – the first computer he bought to start his business with way back in January 1991.
“Twenty years on I’m happy to see that business at Classic Design is still doing extremely well and the quality of our designing and printing works have reached a new height,” Mr Woodcock told Seychelles Nation.
From a little room on Quincy Street (where the St Joseph Day Care is today), Classic Design moved to the Premier Building in the centre of Victoria, the Dehk House in Providence and finally the Fish Leather Warehouse also in Providence in August 2010.
Despite encountering many teething problems just like other businesses in their infancy, Classic Design has survived thanks to its owner’s resilience and determination to succeed.
“Nothing’s easy in life. You have to strive on different fronts to meet your targets,” said Mr Woodcock, who worked alone for almost 17 years before adding graphic designer Hugh Beaudouin on his roster in 2008 as business started booming.
Since then, Bartholomew Bibi and Dino Philoé have joined this classic family who specialises in graphic designing, pre-press jobs, large format printing, vehicle wrapping and one-way vision on windows and doors.
With his business growing rapidly over the past years and the clients’ demands becoming more sophisticated, Mr Woodcock has invested a lot in modern computers and printers to meet their demands and expectations.
“It’s important to listen to your clients and as much as possible add the services they expect from you. Sometimes, you even have to put yourself in their shoes to picture what they really want. It’s as if you’re looking from the opposite end of a camera lens, that is you try to picture the final product and explain it to your client,” he said.
“I believe it’s also our hospitality, the good humour of my staff and our hard work that help us stay competitive in the face of stiff competition in this business.
“We treat our clients well and although we make them feel like home when they come to our office, they remain our guests and friends. We show them a lot of respect and deliver their jobs on time. This is very important for a business to grow,” added Mr Woodcock.
“Empower employees through training”
The Seychellois entrepreneur, who followed his training in the Netherlands, England, Bangladesh, Belgium, Mauritius and Singapore, said he firmly believes in empowering his 
“It’s important that all the workers understand and see the latest development going on in the world of designing and printing. This helps them to grow as individuals and when they come back, they know what they have to do and understand the need to produce on a daily basis for maximum growth. This is very encouraging as all the workers are keen to mettre la main à la pâte as we say in French.
“Our aim for the next 20 years is to stay in the lead in this industry that is growing at a fast pace here despite the country lagging behind the rest of the world due to its geographical positioning,” he explained.
Mr Woodcock added that to achieve this goal, a lot more should be done and there is a need for new additions like a photographer and a copywriter. This is because as designers today, they have to take their own photos and, most of the time, come up with the texts for the adverts they design.
“There’s a lot of brain work involved in this job and one worker cannot substitute for another. We can take photos of an event, but the best person for this job is a trained photographer. He knows what’s interesting in what is going on and the best angle to capture the scenes. It’s the same for a copywriter.
“This is what we lack at present and although it’s a big investment, we have to seriously think about it in the near future if Classic Design is to move up the rating scale.
“Always aim for the best”
“Being small should not be an excuse! We should always aim for the best by investing in modern and quality equipment, and the top class professionals available on the market.”
Businesswise, Mr Woodcock said if some of the procedures can be fast-tracked it would improve the quality of their end products and make life easier for business people who don’t have a lot of time to waste in queues and va-et-vient.
“For example, Classic Design imports all of its primary products because they are not available on the local market. But when they arrive here, the agency has to wait for at least three days before they are cleared when the clients are waiting impatiently for their jobs.
“The faster the imported products are cleared, the money we pay goes into the government’s coffer and Classic Design is able to deliver the works faster and get paid in return. This is good for a vibrant economy like Seychelles’ as we are living in a fast-paced world where each second is worth a fortune,” he said.
Before concluding, Mr Woodcock said in this business you have to be a bit of a psychologist. There are two aspects to this. You have to understand why people would want to buy your type of product and you must know why they would choose yours rather than one of your competitors’.
He went as far as quoting American Gary Bencivenga on the secret of how to sell anything: “Look at markets through the other end of the telescope — not the lens of what you want to sell, but the lens of what people want to buy."
More details about the agency could soon be seen on website www.classicdesign-online.com which is under construction.
Classic Design can be contacted on telephone number 4374329, fax number 4373254 or through emails: classicdesign@seychelles.net and info@classicdesign-online.com.
Keep it classic with Classic Design!
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By Gerard Govinden