Celebrating the winners at the MYOB FCA Excellence in Franchising awards.
Stellar performances from franchisees and franchisors have been celebrated in style at the franchise industry’s national awards.
Hire A Hubby has scored a hat trick at the MYOB FCA Excellence in Franchising Awards 2018 celebrating franchising excellence. The handyman franchise was named Australian Established Franchisor of the Year, and two of the franchisee awards were scooped up by the brand's franchisees.
Hire A Hubby fought off competition from Battery World, The Coffee Club, Mister Minit, MBCM Strata Specialists and The Leather Doctor to take the coveted brand award.
Twenty one years after the business was established, there are 375 franchisees across Australia and the UK.
Regional franchisee winners in NSW/ACT, Jim Kelly and Crystal Petzer, took home the prized title of Multi-Unit Franchisee of the Year. The couple operate the Mona Vale and Narrabreen territories in Sydney’s northern beaches.
Kelly said success was due to the "passion we have to go out every day to do what we do. We've got a great franchisor and a great brand we love."
Petzer added "Part of our success has been the processes we use at Hire A Hubby."
Fellow franchisee Cairns-based Russell Hampton was named the Single Unit Franchisee of the Year, two or more staff. Hampton is the group’s best performing franchisee, a feat achieved after 24 years in management at Woolworths. "The Hire A Hubby family has been sensational," he said.
The national winner for Single Unit Franchisee of the Year, less than two staff, was EFM Health Clubs' Glen Cammiade, and he echoed the importance of passion in running a business.
"It's not a challenge, it's a passion," he said.
EMERGING AND INTERNATIONAL
The award for Australian Emerging Franchisor of the Year went to the Laser Clinics Australia franchise, which has been franchising its unique 50/50 partnership model since 2013.
For Anytime Fitness, being named the International Franchisor of the Year [for a brand developed overseas but operating in Australia] was particularly sweet, coming 10 years to the day after the chain opened its first Australian club. Anytime Fitness Australia is in fact the most successful country model within the global network boasting almost 500 clubs, more than 500,000 members and 280 franchisees.
MARKETING SUCCESS
Inspirations Paints was named the national winner for Excellence in Marketing.
Head of marketing at Inspirations Paint, Joel Goodsir said, “Inspirations Paint stores give customers personal attention to their painting projects. As the franchisor, we support our stores to achieve this everyday through our marketing initiatives and customer programs”.
Inspirations Paint started out as a buying group of five stores in Newcastle in 1979 and now boasts over 100 stores across the country.
DOUBLE WINNERS
A perennial award winner, Boost Juice again took home a couple of awards, this year for Excellence in International Franchising, and for Excellence in Franchise Innovation.
Poolwerx has won the Franchisor
Social Responsibility Award, following the success of its annual Learn2Swim Week and April Pools Day water safety initiatives.
Poolwerx chief operating officer Andrew Kidd, said the company had a strong focus on helping to kerb the incidence of child drownings through the free swimming lessons and CPR courses offered as part of the programs.
“Our franchise partners throughout Australia are highly committed to these campaigns and to bringing awareness about the importance of water safety. These initiatives are all about education and ultimately helping to save lives.”
Along with the Franchisor Social Responsibility award, this year Poolwerx National Franchise Operations Manager, Steve Halls, took out the FCA national Field Manager of the Year award after assisting over 20 business owners across Queensland to achieve the highest increase in sales nationally. This is the second time Halls has won the award in the past three years.
GREAT CONTRIBUTIONS
Kate Thomson of ANZ Mobile Lending outshone the competition to win the Franchise Woman of the Year title. A former McDonald’s executive, in her role at ANZ Thomson is responsible for leading the franchise to boost business performance and to evolve the franchise model.
The Franchisee Community Responsibility and Contribution award went to Bendigo Bank in North Perth. With its motto that business should “feed into prosperity, not off it”, the franchise shares a significant percentage of branch profits with the local community through donations, sponsorship, grants and volunteering.
HR Central was named Supplier of the Year. The business provides cloud-based HR admin tools and expert advice to the franchise sector.
Michael Paul, the founder of Pack & Send, and an active contributor to the franchising sector and a former chair of the FCA, was rewarded with a place on the Hall of Fame.
In a message to the franchising community, the FCA executive chair, Bruce Billson, praised the performance and commitment of the national winners.
“The talent, creativity and success that we recognise through the 2018 MYOB FCA Excellence in Franchising Awards showcases why we have good reason to be optimistic about the future of franchising,” he said.
“We are energised by the drive, initiative, innovation and passion that we celebrate.”