Franchise Awards open with a brand new look for 05

Media release

July 1st 2005

Franchise Awards open with a brand new look for 2005

The 2005 New Zealand Franchise Awards open with a brand new look and format for what marks the 11 th anniversary of the Awards.

The Franchise Awards which represent the premier franchising event of the year have been entirely restructured to reduce confusion and increase their value to both winners and sponsors. The process of entry is designed to deliver benefits to all entrants.

Along with the new format comes another key change, a newly elected Association Chairman, Mike Henderson , has been appointed as part of a directional move by the Association to become more in touch with its members, while maintaining its credibility and professionalism.

As well as serving the next term as Chairman of the Franchise Association, Mike Henderson holds down the role as Group Controller of the Paper Plus Group, a co-operative franchise system. He also has 22 years experience with The National Bank of New Zealand Limited with management roles in Strategic Planning, Marketing and Regional Management, followed by roles with both BB's Espresso Franchise brand and Robert Harris Café franchise chain.

"I'm an enthusiastic supporter of franchising, an industry that plays an important role in the New Zealand economy. After five years experience as a franchisee and seven years in franchisor roles, I understand the industry's pitfalls as well as its potential. I look forward to taking on a more hands on approach with both association members and the awards," says Chairman Mike Henderson.

As part of the awards restructure, long-time supporters Westpac are taking the leading role as overall sponsors of the accolades, implementing the brand new title of The Westpac New Zealand Franchise Awards 2005.

"Westpac is proud to sponsor the 2005 New Zealand Franchise Awards. This forms part of our long standing partnership with the Franchise Association and commitment to driving business excellence in the franchising industry. We applaud all those businesses that take this opportunity to enter into these awards," says Daniel Cloete, National Franchising Manager – Westpac.

The total number of awards has been reduced. Entries will now be invited in five distinct sector categories - Business Services, Home Services, Lifestyle Services, Food and Beverage, and Retail. Awards for each sector will be made for top franchise system and top franchisee in each of the categories, and from these ten winners the supreme titles of Westpac Franchise System of the Year, and Westpac Franchisee of the Year will be named. A separate award will be made for the Westpac Service Provider of the Year.

"Another major change is an innovative system which will provide feedback to all entrants, enabling them to benchmark their performance against others in the sector as well as the top performers," explains Association Chairman Mike Henderson.

Stuart Beadle, Managing Director of CleanTastic, last years winner of the Westpac Supreme Award, is pleased with the industry acknowledgement.

"Recognition from the awards has opened up considerable opportunities to our organisation that would otherwise not have been available. We would highly recommend all franchisors to enter the awards as it is an extremely worthwhile experience from start to finish," says Beadle

Award entries opened Monday June 27th and are open to all franchisees, franchise systems and master franchisees from both New Zealand and overseas systems. Organisers hope to boost entry numbers for 2005 in an industry which now accounts for $10billion+ slice of the New Zealand economy. Entries close 26th August 2005 for the 12th November 2005 gala event.

ENDS

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