Review The British Franchise Exhibition
Look North
Manchester franchise event brings keen visitors face to face with exciting business opportunities
P
acked seminar theatres and a vibrant mood among the crowds of budding franchisees discovering exciting business opportunities all helped to create a positive atmosphere at
another successful British Franchise Exhibition at Manchester Central and prompted some excellent feedback from visitors. “The British Franchise Exhibition is a really good way to research franchise opportunities and ideas. My visit to the event today was well worth it as I’ve come across unexpected ideas that interest me. “I’ve found it really valuable to meet franchise businesses face to face.” Kevin Eastwell, a surveyor from Market
Harborough, was just one of the many who benefited from a visit to the event. The two-day show offered a superb range of top franchise business opportunities spanning areas such as food and drink, home care, travel and property. Many aspiring franchisees had productive meetings with a variety of potential partners showing their enthusiasm and commitment by researching exhibitors before arriving. Ming Jiang, a hotel manager from Sutton Coldfield commented: “It is very useful to compare a range of companies from different sectors in one place.”
Nathan Sermon, head of franchising at Cash Converters, added: “We’ve had good conversations with visitors with many identifying us specifically as a business they wanted to talk with and meet face to face.” Visitors also made the most of an extensive schedule of informative free seminars and panel sessions where experts, industry
“The British Franchise Exhibition is a really good way to research franchise opportunities. My visit to the event today was well worth it”
bodies and existing franchisees shared their advice and experience. The British Franchise Association (bfa) delivered a series of incisive talks providing impartial and practical guidance on all aspects of franchising. Alongside this, hundreds of visitors developed their understanding of franchising by attending seminars on Making franchising your future, Expanding your business through franchising, and Choosing franchising after redundancy. These drew crowds, as always, filling the theatres and spilling into the aisles and receiving much positive feedback.
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Businessfranchise.com | July/August 2012
The Growing Your Own Business series of seminars once again proved to be a very popular feature at the event. Inspiring entrepreneurs from around the UK shared the secrets of their success and attracted many people to hear their keynote addresses Among the speakers were Sarah Cross, Managing Director of Uber and North West Business Woman of the Year 2011, who explained why the customer is the most precious asset of any business in her talk: The holy grail of customer engagement – how to win the hearts minds and wallets of your customers.
Following their success last year, the hugely popular McDonalds Open Days returned, with many people making the most of the opportunity to meet existing franchisees and receive a taste of what it is like to be part of one of the world’s biggest brands. Tasleem Hussain from Accrington visited the event for the first time and found the British Franchise Exhibition invaluable in her research commenting: “I have found the event really motivational. I have seen franchise business opportunities that I’d like to pursue, particularly in the food and drink, property and retail sectors.
“I like the concept of franchising and the fact franchisees receive valuable support from their business.”
Adrian Goodsell, Franchise Exhibitions Manager at Venture Marketing Group, organisers of The British Franchise Exhibition, summed up the show: “We saw many people through the doors of Manchester Central during the two days of the show, with the seminars really pulling in the crowds.” n
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