FRANCHISE IRELANDSummer 2006(The online newsletter of the Irish Franchise Association, 30 Tolka Valley Business Park, Ballyboggan Road, Dublin 11. T- 01 4991091. Email - michaelbradley@irishfranchiseassociation.com MESSAGE FROM JOHN GREEN, CHAIRMAN, IRISH FRANCHISE ASSOCIATION“Welcome to our second newsletter of 2006. The Irish Franchise Association continues to enhance the profile of franchising as a means of starting or expanding a business through its current activities - Regional seminars/presentations – we held an information seminar in Galway in conjunction with Galway Chamber, and addressed entrepreneurial studies students at the Dublin Institute of Technology and the Smurfit School of Business, University College Dublin. Details of Autumn seminars – Franchising, All You Need To Know…- to be held in Dublin and Carlow, will be posted soon on our website along with details of additional venues. Our regular workshop for existing business owners, How to Franchise your Business – an introduction, will be held in November and details will be added to the events section of our website.
There are six categories, viz, Franchise of the Year, Retail and Service: Franchisee of the Year, Retail and Service: Best Emerging Franchise: Franchise Person of the Year. Details/entry forms are available from michaelbradley@irishfranchiseassociation.com Irish Franchise Exhibition 2006 – will be held at the RDS, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 on 17th and 18th November, and information seminars will be held during both days. See our website, www.irishfranchiseasociation.com, or www.franinfo.ie. Franchise Survey – the findings of the 2006 survey on franchising in Ireland are expected to be published in the Autumn and are expected to show continued growth in all aspects of the sector. Irish Franchise Association’s strategic plan 2006 to 2010 – was discussed at a special meeting in July and will be put forward for approval at the Committee meeting in September. The draft plan - outlining key strategic objectives to improve the Irish Franchise Association’s structure, standards and effectiveness – is available to members per email to michaelbradley@irishfranchiseassociation.com Training for franchisors – is planned for November at the National College of Ireland and will be given by Howarth Franchising. Modules will, for example, cover subjects like Marketing a Franchise, Recruiting Franchisees, Motivating and Monitoring Franchisees. Details will be posted on our website in due course and all members will be notified. To members of the Irish Franchise Association - thank you for your continued support. To other franchisors – why not contact us about the benefits of Irish Franchise Association membership to your business? And to all our readers - thank you for your interest. See www.irishfranchiseasociation.com for further information on all aspects of franchising”. JOHN GREEN, Chairman NEW MEMBERSWe welcome the following to membership of the Irish Franchise Association: 1/2 price ink – is a cartridge recycling centre, owned by master franchisors Colm O'Meara and Oliver McLoughlin based in Nenagh, Co Tipperary. Three stores have been opened this year giving a total of six operational outlets. The business is suitable for everyone, as comprehensive training is provided along with ongoing support. Contact Colm on 067-33427 or log on to www.12ink.ie and download your FREE information pack. Icon Business Solutions - is a leading global business advisory organisation with an international network of successful franchisees helping business owners achieve their goals. Every Icon advisor aims to develop the leadership skills of business owners so they can spend less time in the business and more time achieving their business goals. Icon Business Solutions Advisors improve business owners’ lives by providing step by step solutions where the business owner gets to design and implement specific business strategies to achieve financial and personal gain. Icon’s systems and support provide the opportunity to build a substantial business, employing a team that allows you to concentrate on generating significant streams of income. To discover more contact Ray Kenny, MD Ireland at 065 684 5862, raykenny@iconbusinesssolutions.ie, www.iconbusinesssolutions.ie. News from Commercial Department, US Embassy, DublinAmerican franchise concepts are now the dominant source of franchises in Ireland and over the last few years, the U.S. Commercial Service at the U.S. Embassy, Dublin has helped several American franchisors identify master licensees and franchisees for the Irish market. For additional information on the U.S. Commercial Service visit their website at http://www.buyusa.gov/ireland NEWS and VIEWSSunbelt Business Brokers have appointed John Murray as their franchisee for the greater Dublin area. Sunbelt Business Brokers confidentially market and sell all types of privately owned businesses, including franchise resales, on a no sale-no fee basis. John, who is a qualified Accountant, was attracted to Sunbelt because of their 28 year track record of industry leadership, the integrity of their confidential marketing process and the untapped potential in the Irish market. “Up to 5% of Ireland’s 250,000 small to medium sized businesses change ownership each year yet the options available to business owners are pretty much limited to selling the business privately or asking the Accountant to find a buyer. Sunbelt Business Brokers will confidentially expose each business to domestic and international markets to achieve the maximum selling price in the shortest time possible and business owners are responding very positively to what we are doing for them” said John. Sunbelt Business Brokers can be contacted on 01 523 7550 or by email at info@sunbelt.ie. Cleaning Doctor - now has 41 branches, of which 36 are Cleaning Doctor and 5 are The Clean Team, and the breakdown is: Republic of Ireland 16; Northern Ireland 10; England 12; Scotland 2 and Isle of Man 1. Their latest franchisee is Eric Wharton in Tralee & Kerry North, and they have broken into Scotland with two vibrant franchisees in Edinburgh. The Isle of Man has recently been added to their coverage. Their new franchise option, The Clean Team - Home Cleaning Services, is attracting a lot of interest. www.cleaningdoctor.net WhichFranchise.ie - to accommodate the needs of the growing Irish franchise industry, the UK’s number one online franchise company, whichfranchise, has launched a website catering solely for the Irish market, www.whichfranchise.ie. Packed with comprehensive, quality information, advice, news and ethical opportunities, whichfranchise.ie is the ideal website for anyone thinking about starting out on their own in business and who wish to add franchising to their options.
Agency Express - This month sees the launch of SignMaster, a unique online board management system developed exclusively for Agency Express, the UK’s only nationwide ‘For Sale’ board contractor. In 1997, Agency Express was set up to offer a professional and reliable board fixing service to corporate and independent estate agencies. Its franchisees now service an average of 4,300 agency boards per day and work for 20 per cent of all estate agency offices in the UK. Ology's Dynamic Communications workshops are now available in Ireland. Arik Elberse, master licensee for Ology in Ireland, said "At Ology we use behavioural profiling skills to equip people to improve efficiency, reduce conflict and improve motivation to enhance overall business performance. This one day workshop has been shown to have a lasting impact on business owners, managers and any employee." A delegate at one of the first workshops in Ireland commented "A big change from the courses I'm usually sent on... a great team building day". To find out more or to enquire about joining the team of Ology Business Advisors please contact Arik Elberse on +353 91 472125, e-mail: arikelberse@ologybusiness.com or see www.ologybusiness.com/arikelberse Ladies Workout Express - have just opened their tenth franchise in Preston, and now have 4 in England, 4 in the Republic of Ireland and 2 in Northern Ireland. They have 2 more clubs to open in Ireland in August and another 5 before the end of the year. Their new club in Bangor reached break even turnover in 3 months and the franchisee is now about to open his second Club. Ladies Workout Express gives complete support to Irish franchisees, and still has many locations available around the country. The ladies fitness market is only starting in this country so there are many opportunities available. Contact chris.donaldson@o2.co.uk Franchisor Training – Howarth Franchising and the Irish Franchise Association are planning to hold training modules for franchisors on 13/14/15 November at the National College of Ireland, IFSC, Dublin, and will cover such topics as "How to Market a Franchise and Recruit Franchisees", "How to Monitor Franchisee Performance" and “How to Motivate Franchisees". Further details will be sent to members and added to the “events” section of our website. Husse Ireland - who home deliver free Super Premium Pet food, has appointed its first Franchisee in Northern Ireland. Robert Campbell of Newtownards has signed up for the North Down area including Newtownards, Bangor and the Ards Peninsula. Previously in the Construction business, Robert feels that as he is now in his fifties, he would like to get away from climbing over scaffolding. Robert will supply not only North Down but also local clients outside his immediate franchise area. Robert’s area is the eighth signed by Husse since November, 2005. Further information from Eric McClintock, 1800 750 750 Signs Express - the Belfast centre of leading signs and graphics franchise, Signs Express, received an exotic invitation to supply their services – when local window manufacturer, KMR Windows, required signage for their new showroom in Athens, Greece! After recognising a need in Greece for high quality windows which do not react to high intensity heat, KMR set up a new showroom in Athens and looked to Signs Express to provide professionally designed signage for the new premises. Signs Express (Belfast) provides a complete design, manufacture and fitting service for all forms of signage including interior and exterior signs, vehicle graphics, window graphics, banners and health & safety signage. Signs Express (Belfast) is part of the UK & Ireland’s largest sign company with over 80 centres nationwide and is a member of the British Sign & Graphics Association. See www.signsexpress.co.uk The Wine Buff - launched its eleventh shop and second in Leinster, when business partners, Bryn Maine and Martin Kelly, opened a new franchise outlet in Navan, Co Meath. This is the first of several Wine Buff’s planned by the business partners over the next couple of years. The Wine Buff opened its first shop in Limerick in November 2006 and was developed to meet growing customer demand for quality wines at affordable prices. Six years on and the Wine Buff goes from strength to strength with ten new franchise outlets (Cork, Ennis, Tralee, Clonmel, Galway, Nenagh, Sligo, Waterford, Newbridge and Navan) and a growing portfolio of extraordinary wines. The Wine Buff specialises in finding wines made by the best family owned vineyards too small or interesting for the supermarkets or big brand buyers and importing these without using agents or brokers. See www.thewinebuff.com or call Mike McDonnell (087) 8175259. Michael Finnegan and Associates - MFA have been successfully involved in the development of operating manuals for companies since 1987. During this time they have developed manuals to specific national and international standards, which have been independently audited and certified. Their hands on approach is based on experience of the needs of the client for user friendly, concise and understandable documentation. They assist in the enhancement of existing systems and the development of new processes to ensure the successful roll out of the franchise concept. MFA is committed to delivering a complete documentation solution to the highest standards based on a personal approach and dedication to total client satisfaction. Call Micheal Finnegan 01 4589852, info@mfa.ie The British Franchise Association’s 2006 Franchisor of the Year Award went to Driver Hire. Chief Executive, Chris Chidley, was presented with the winner's trophy by BFA President Sir Bernard Ingham. There were also two additional accolades where SUMO was named 'Brand Builder of the Year' and the 'Enterprise Award' went to VIP Bin Cleaning. The theme for this year's awards was "Planning for Success" and the 2006 winners all displayed exceptional ability in this area. The afterparty, on the Queen Mary, was an opportunity for the winners to celebrate their outstanding achievement. See www.thebfa.org. Franchising is big business in USA - there are 767,483 franchised businesses in the U.S., employing 18 million people and generating $506.6 billion in payroll, a 2004 study shows. California leads the nation with 103 franchise headquarters, according to the International Franchise Association, and franchisees say name recognition often provides a big boost Franchise International (FI) is the world's only publication totally dedicated to international master franchising. In circulation since 1993 and now published quarterly, Franchise International is available online or in print, providing a valuable guide to investigating the franchise market, helping you to keep up to date with the latest master franchising news and linking to the most valuable franchise resources. Thank you for reading FRANCHISE IRELAND. |
Irish Franchise Awards 2006 – now in their third year, the Awards are designed to recognise and reward the outstanding achievements of organisations and individuals in the growth and development of their franchised businesses and their contribution towards this sector on the island of Ireland. The Awards are expected to attract national media attention and to provide good PR opportunities for the winners. The nomination process is open until 20 September next.