A prominent line-up of franchising leaders from across Australia’s franchise sector has been assembled for this year’s Franchise Management Forum to be held in Brisbane on Friday 23 June.
The annual Franchise Management Forum, jointly organised by Griffith University’s Asia-Pacific Centre for Franchising Excellence and the Franchise Advisory Centre, has been running every year since 2009.
This year’s Forum promises to be one of the best ever, with an impressive collection of speakers on show representing a diverse cross-section of franchise businesses, from food retailing to real estate and day spas.
The franchise leaders to be featured at the 2017 Franchise Management Forum are:
* Serge Infanti, Managing Director of Foodco (Muffin Break and Jamaica Blue)
Serge’s address on ‘Multi-branding to maximise opportunities and growth’ will focus on the unique challenges of running a multi-brand franchise network, including business strategy, support resources and recruitment.
* Melanie Gleeson, Founder and CEO of Endota Spa
Melanie’s address on ‘Building a national wellness chain for women’ will focus on the inspiration for wellness and its emergence as a major trend, the trial and error in building scalable systems, and lessons in franchisee selection.
* Tom Potter, Franchise Entrepreneur & Founder of Eagle Boys Pizza
Tom’s address on ‘The rise and fall of Eagle Boys and the lessons for all franchisors’ will focus on the impact of pizza price wars and new technology, the early warning signs of a network in decline, and common mistakes made by franchisors and how to avoid them.
* Karim Messih, CEO of Mexican food chain Zambrero
Karim’s address on ‘How to build a major food brand with a social purpose’ will focus on the guiding humanitarian philosophy of Zambrero, managing rapid growth and developing systems, and maintaining an edge in the highly competitive Mexican QSR market.
* Peter Camphin, CEO (QLD) of real estate franchise Ray White
Peter’s address ‘Parallel franchising and the role of new brands in one of Australia’s oldest networks’ will focus on how to stay ahead of social and economic change, the impact of information in empowering the modern consumer, and integrating new franchise brands.
As well as the quality of its speakers, the Franchise Management Forum also prides itself on providing an open and interactive environment for the sharing of ideas. The Open Exchange is always one of the most popular sessions at the Forum and encourages group discussion and problem-solving of the hottest issues in franchising.
This year’s Open Exchange will examine: How to get franchisees to embrace new technology and IT systems; Benchmarking systems franchisors use to compare franchisees’ sales, costs and profits; How to recruit, retain, reward and motivate field support personnel; The role of an external board in improving franchisor governance, risk management and strategic planning; and a final topic to be determined by the audience on the day.
There will also be a special panel discussion on proposed Fair Work changes relating to franchise businesses. This session ‘Managing joint employer risks if franchisors are to be held liable for franchisees’ workers’ will be chaired by Derek Sutherland, Special Counsel, HWL Ebsworth Lawyers and will also feature a panel of specialist commentators.
This panel discussion has been added to the Forum program to address what is one of the most contentious issues in franchising at present. The Protecting Vulnerable Workers legislation, which has been drafted by the Federal Government, has the potential to substantially change the nature of the franchise relationship. Franchisors must be ready to manage the new emerging risks in this area and be aware of the mandatory systems and practices required for protection. This special session will examine the current state of play with these important regulatory changes, how they could impact on franchise networks, and the pro-active steps that can be taken to manage franchisees’ employment risks.
Kerry Miles, general and business manager at the Asia-Pacific Centre for Franchising Excellence, said the Franchise Management Forum provides a unique opportunity to tap into the collective knowledge of some of the leading minds in Australia’s franchise sector, with practical outcomes for attendees to apply to their own franchise systems.
“The chance to hear directly from some of Australia’s most highly-regarded franchise leaders, providing valuable insights into the highs and lows they have encountered throughout their franchising journeys, is not to be missed,” Ms Miles said.
“The full-day program of keynote speakers, interactive exchange of ideas and networking is a must for anyone seeking to expand their franchise management skills and knowledge, with real-life learnings to take away for the benefit of their own business.”
WHAT: 2017 Franchise Management Forum
WHEN: Friday, 23 June 2017
WHERE: Sofitel Brisbane Central, 249 Turbot Street, Brisbane
CONTACT: Tel: 07 3382 1401; franchising@griffith.edu.au
For more information visit www.franchise.edu.au