NSW and ACT’s best in franchising announced

The Franchise Council of Australia (FCA) recognised franchising’s best in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory on Friday night at the Seek Commercial FCA NSW/ACT Excellence in Franchising Awards for 2015.

Held at The Grace Hotel in Sydney, winners at the event included Jeff and Natalie Bailey of Frontline Recruitment Group, who were named NSW/ACT Multi-Unit Franchisee of the Year, Britt and Ben Diggins of Bakers Delight, Sturt Mall in Wagga Wagga, who took home the NSW/ACT Single Unit Franchisee of the Year, two or more staff award and Brent Giblin of Mister Minit, Shellharbour, who was named the NSW/ACT Single Unit Franchisee of the Year, less than two staff.

The awards also recognized Natalie Brennan of Foodco as the NSW/ACT Franchise Woman of the Year, Deni Jakimovski of Bakers Delight as the NSW/ACT Field Manager of the Year, and Anthony Hamod of Fastway Couriers, Wollongong, as the winner of the NSW/ACT Franchisee Community Responsibility and Contribution Award for 2015.

All winners on the night shared a common passion for franchising and their respective businesses, with FoodCo’s National Services and Support Manager, Natalie Brennan describing the satisfaction that comes with her role as a conduit between head office and franchisees.

“The unique nature of franchising is that it is generally families living the dream of becoming their own bosses, creating a lifestyle for themselves and being able to support their families through that business. Helping them do that is really what drives me,” said Natalie.

It was indeed the dream of being able to afford a house and have a family that drove Britt and Ben Diggins to start the process to become franchisees with Bakers Delight at just 18 and 23 years old respectively. More than seven years’ later their decision is paying dividends.

“Financially we’ve hit all our goals. Each year we’ve grown in sales, we’ve grown in operating profit, the number of staff we employ has grown as well,” said Britt, who found the awards a valuable opportunity to reflect on the longer-term successes of their business.

For Canberra-based multi-unit franchisees Jeff and Natalie Bailey, the awards were a chance to reflect on both the support of their franchisor and the efforts of the staff in their franchises, while Mister Minit’s Brent Gibling’s passion for his business is focused on delivering “the customer a great experience and make them leave the store thinking ‘wow, they’ve exceeded expectations’.”

Following their success, all winners have qualified as finalists for the MYOB FCA National Excellence in Franchising Awards. The Gala Dinner will be held at RACV Royal Pines on the Gold Coast on Tuesday 13 October at the culmination of the National Franchise Convention.

WINNERS

NSW/ACT Multi-Unit Franchisee of the Year:  Jeff & Natalie Bailey, Frontline Recruitment Group

NSW/ACT Single Unit Franchisee of the Year – two or more staff: Britt & Ben Diggins, Bakers Delight, Sturt Mall, Wagga Wagga

NSW/ACT Single Unit Franchisee of the Year – less than two staff: Brent Giblin, Mister Minit, Shellharbour

NSW/ACT Franchise Woman of the Year: Natalie Brennan, Foodco

NSW/ACT Field Manager of the Year: Deni Jakimovski, Bakers Delight

NSW/ACT Franchisee Community Contribution and Responsibility: Anthony Hamod, Fastway Couriers, Wollongong

Future Awards presentation dates

Seek Commercial FCA WA Excellence in Franchising Awards – Friday 14 August

Seek Commercial FCA VIC/TAS Excellence in Franchising Awards – Thursday 20 August

Seek Commercial FCA SA Excellence in Franchising Awards – Friday 28 August