Alshaya named world’s best franchise partner

GLRC award honors relationships with global food brands

DUBAI, Nov 5: M.H. Alshaya Co, the international retail franchise business that operates leading restaurant brands like Starbucks, The Cheesecake Factory, P.F. Chang’s and Shake Shack, has been named the world’s best restaurant franchise partner at an awards event in Dubai.

Alshaya was named the winner of the Partnership category of the Global Restaurant Leadership Conference (GLRC) Awards of Distinction, reflecting the company’s ability to adapt international brands to new markets and maintain strong relationships with multiple global brands. Alshaya operates more than 25 food brands across the Middle East and North Africa, Russia, Turkey and Europe, as part of its wider portfolio of more than 80 retail brands.

“The recipients of the GRLC Distinction Awards have demonstrated excellence in their endeavors and respective markets. Alshaya is a franchise partner to some of the world’s best known retail brands across MENA, Russia, Turkey and Europe, and is a tremendous example of the partnership required to successfully expand globally, hence their recognition as Best Partner,” said Mike Wood, CEO, Winsight, LLC.

The awards recognise restaurant operators that excel in the global marketplace through innovation, community service, partnership and

A photo from the event

expansion. GLRC attendees and sponsors, as well as the industry leaders from around the world, were invited to nominate restaurants that best exemplify success in these areas. The winners were selected by a jury of global experts from Restaurant Business, Technomic and Winsight Media, with counsel from the GRLC Advisory Council.

Accepting the award, Ian Toal, the President of Alshaya’s Food Division, said being a successful franchise partner was all about three factors: building great partnerships, delivering authentic brand experiences and having strong local market knowledge.

“At Alshaya, we’ve been operating retail franchises in the region for 35 years with some of the world’s best-known brands, and they work because we have strong partnerships built on trust, integrity and mutual benefit. Our job is to deliver the brand as the customer expects, whether they’re in home in New York, or here in the Middle East. To do this, we rely heavily on our local experience, access to great property locations, proven infrastructure and a skilled team.”