F
or almost 40 years, the British Franchise Association (bfa) has been protecting and promoting business format franchising within the UK. The bfa currently
provides a standards-based membership platform to franchisors, franchisees and professional advisers to the franchise industry. The main purpose is to create enviable circumstances for much growth and influence.
UK networker
In 2017 the bfa is looking to further strengthen and extend the potential for representation as two new membership categories are piloted. The UK networker category will target staff members of international brands that do not have a franchise system operating in the UK. Individuals that apply and are accepted to this membership will benefit from bfa educational programmes, along with the opportunity to immerse themselves within a rich support network of industry experts and peers. This enables the bfa to drive the continued awareness of ethical franchising practice and support the ongoing development of the industry. Reaching the franchise personnel and developing them into experts in their own right means the bfa is not just strengthening professional expertise within franchising generally, but is also strengthening the impact that this learning will have on the overall effectiveness of network relationships and frontline franchisee delivery. Broadening franchise people skills to create coaches and mentors that can motivate while broadening the opportunities and ambition of those that have entered a network will see increased success across the industry.
UK developer The bfa already has good standing on the international stage and is an integral member of both the World Franchise Council and European Franchise Federation. The latter membership category will target international brands and businesses that are looking to enter the UK environment.
When designing the framework in which this category will sit, great consideration has been given to ensure the current bfa standards are maintained. In order to
qualify for the category, international brands should have an established successful network in their current region of operation. This will form a baseline accreditation to evidence current capabilities of the franchise to effectively onboard, embed and support a network in an ethical way. Additional areas of compliance will be required in relation to the UK landscape assessment and subsequent development of foundation documents.
The opportunity for the brand is one by which they are committing from an early stage to set up and operate according to bfa standards. The member will be able to engage in all current member benefits but won’t be listed or receive its logo until it has its first-year trading evidence; the aim is to provide guidance in the early days to help navigate the rocky terrain when piloting. Once 12 months of successful trading evidence in accordance with the UK model can be provided, the membership will transition upon successful review to the provisionally listed category.
The bfa often receives complaints or industry intelligence about people that have suffered at the hand of a rogue franchisor, or of businesses on the verge of failure because they didn’t have the right framework and supporting skills in their
people to sustain a franchise network. Both of these membership categories go that one step further to educate at a critical point of franchising development. In order to encourage more people to franchise, franchising needs to be talked about at every level by those that are involved with it.
Pip Wilkins, CEO of the bfa, says: “With
approximately 901 franchise systems and 44,000 franchisees, all with a story to tell, collectively we have a massive opportunity. We simply need to harness the great successes across all levels and utilise that to increase promotion and awareness. There is a lot we can learn from each other and a lot we can tell the world, which will see this industry transition into a league of its own.”
Pip makes no excuses for proactively identifying new revenue stream opportunities for the British Franchise Association. By leveraging international counterparts and both UK and international industry experts, exceptional examples of success within the franchising world can be uncovered. By strengthening the association, the bfa can continue to invest and strengthen the franchising industry; it is quite simply a self-fulfilling prophecy of which the franchising community is right at the core.
July/August 2017 |
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