Autosmart lead the pack to scoop Franchisor of the Year

Autosmart was celebrating last night after being named Franchisor of the Year 2014 and also picking up the Franchisee Recruitment Award at the bfa HSBC Franchisor of the Year Awards, supported by Express Newspapers, held at Heythrop Park.

It’s the third time in the last six years that the business has taken the top accolade in UK franchising, previously winning in 2008 and 2012. In a challenging market, Autosmart impressed judges by continuing to break their own sales records and maintaining the highest franchising standards, with exceptional recruitment processes and outstanding ethics, innovation and investment in its franchisees leading to remarkable success.

Celebrating their 25th anniversary, this year’s awards welcomed new categories to highlight the diversity of franchising in the UK. The following franchisors took the honours:

bfa HSBC Franchisor of the Year: Autosmart
Franchisee Recruitment Award: Autosmart
Emerging Franchisor of the Year: Right at Home
Award for Innovation: Chemex
Brand of the Year: Kumon
Award for International Achievement: Pirtek

Right at Home, led by a former Franchisee of the Year, showcased an unerring ethos of care quality and extraordinary franchisee results; Chemex triumphed over two globally-renowned brands for innovation after its directors set up a pilot franchise themselves and remodelled the business; Kumon demonstrated how an established brand can transform itself and its network sales in the modern digital landscape; and Pirtek’s devotion to its international markets included senior staff learning new languages to immerse themselves in local culture.

Brian Smart, director general of the bfa, said: “Over 25 years, we have seen the nation’s finest franchisors honoured at these awards. This year’s entries continued that fine tradition by showcasing an overwhelming level of commitment, drive and diversity. The judging process is always difficult and this year was no exception, with the winners continuing to challenge the high standards set in previous years. Seeing franchisors from such a diverse range of sectors come together to celebrate their achievements is inspirational, and highlights what is possible by expanding through ethical franchising.”

Cathryn Hayes, head of franchising, HSBC, said: “Communication, strategic planning and the implementation of development plans, are all crucial to being a successful franchisor. We have seen these skills demonstrated in abundance by the winners of this year’s awards. The level of enthusiasm, passion and creativity demonstrated by this year’s franchisors operating in challenging markets has been fantastic. We have been particularly impressed with how these winners have supported their franchisee networks, implementing smooth recruitment processes, and showing a high level of care above and beyond the expected.”

Sean Hammond, head of franchising at Express Newspapers, said: “Every year we are overwhelmed by the sheer levels of dedication demonstrated by the finalists during the judging process. The winners are truly trailblazing in their sectors and are great representatives of successful British franchising. The new award categories have enabled us to recognise the new and innovative ways franchising is developing both in this country, and overseas.”

Further information on the award winners

bfa HSBC Franchisor of the Year Award, and Franchisee Recruitment Award
Winner- Autosmart

Autosmart is the country’s largest business to business supplier of vehicle cleaning products. Established in 1979, the company develops and manufactures all of its own products, distributing them exclusively through an international network of franchisees. Each franchisee operates from mobile showrooms, which are purpose built vehicles fitted out as shops internally. The customers are able to go on board and see and sample the full range of products. This helps the network to maintain flexibility, and deliver strong sales in a challenging market.

Autosmart impressed the judges with their focus on long-term success, the highest ethical standards of franchisee recruitment and growth strategies that have seen the company increase sales by 36 per cent since 2008, in a depressed market. Collecting both awards, franchise director Michelle Williams said: “Receiving our fifth and sixth bfa awards since 2008 means so much to us and our network of franchisees. We have been working very hard for the past year on maintaining our high standards, whilst driving sales and putting franchisee profitability at the heart of everything we do. The awards are a testament to the hard work that our head office team and our franchisees all over the country put into driving the company’s success, and we’re very happy and proud to have been recognised for our efforts and ethics.”

To read more about the Autosmart franchise opportunity, please click here

Award for Innovation
Winner- Chemex

Chemex is the largest franchised distributor of chemical and biological products in the market. Since the company was founded 30 years ago, it has supplied quality cleaning and hygiene products through a customer focused approach, delivering outstanding value for money.

Chemex picked up the Award for Innovation at the ceremony after showcasing a series of impressive changes to its model. After the board of directors went back to basics by getting hands-on in a start-up London franchise, new techniques, markets and app-based sales tools have transformed the business from a product-based model to a service-based offering. Chemex has seen an impressive jump in sales and is leading the way for innovation for franchises in the UK.

Sean Derrig, chief executive of Chemex, said: “We wanted to experience exactly what life was like for our franchisees and to get our own hands dirty! The perspective the experience gave us helped to develop so many new initiatives that have been extremely hard work to implement, but have had substantial benefits and really energised the whole business. Our franchisees have worked exceptionally hard to drive sales and deliver growth, and we’re really proud of the whole network.”

Emerging Franchisor of the Year
Winner- Right at Home

Right at Home provides professional care to the seniors, and adults with disabilities. The company prides itself on being able to provide home care services for almost any family in practically any situation. Its in-home care enables its elderly clientele to enjoy healthy lives in the comforts of their familiar surroundings. The franchise impressed judges through the high standards of service delivered, and how these standards are implemented across the board. The company executes a one-hour minimum rule for all of its customer visits, ensuring that a high level of care is delivered, and has developed a robust recruitment process to deliver sustainable growth.

Ken Deary, managing director of Right at Home, said: “We have been fully committed to establishing ourselves in the marketplace with sustainable growth focusing on franchisee success, and to receive this prestigious accolade recognising our efforts is fantastic. I myself am a former bfa HSBC Franchisee of the Year, from 12 years ago, and I wanted to transfer that success to a larger network. We are proud of everyone involved in the franchise and are looking forward to seeing our success continue to drive forward.”

To read more about the Right at Home franchise opportunity, please click here

Brand of the Year
Winner- Kumon

Kumon is the UK’s largest supplementary education provider. The company offers maths and English study programmes to over 70,000 students in 680 study centres to children of all ages and abilities. The franchise prides itself on delivering a high level of care to each individual child and offering them a platform through which to succeed in their local communities.

Kumon was awarded the Brand of the Year Award after exhibiting its impressive diversification from an established traditional brand in a modern digital landscape. The franchise holds annual brand reviews to ensure that the messaging is on track, which led to their switch in focus to online communications and content marketing, demonstrating their adaptability in a competitive marketplace. Natalie Bailey, brand relationship manager at Kumon, said: “We are thrilled to receive this award. We’ve been working on developing our brand into one that can be easily interpreted by the consumer landscape for a few years, and this feels like an acknowledgement that we’re there. We’re really pleased our efforts have been celebrated in this way.”

Award for International Achievement
Winner- Pirtek

Pirtek are the country’s leading provider of on-site hydraulic hose replacement. The franchise entered the market in 1998 and specialises in hydraulic hoses, pipe fittings and couplings. The company has service centres and on-site teams working across Europe, and has a mission to provide the fastest and most convenient service to its customer base, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Pirtek’s international development impressed the judges hugely. The franchise has grown across various European markets and has now just opened in Austria, with Italy next in line. Having learned lessons from the mistakes of previous less-successful European ventures, Pirtek has adapted its expansion plan accordingly to deliver a high level of customer service and franchisee care. For the past two years, Pirtek has delivered 25 per cent annual growth, achieved through commitment to international development.

Alistair Wiggins, managing director at Pirtek, said: “We have been driving international growth for a few years, really stepping up our focus on applying local strategies to each market within an overall international mindset. Our Chairman Kelvin Roberts even learnt German to facilitate our transformation in this market and create an inclusive atmosphere across country boundaries, eventually presenting at the Pirtek Germany conference. Our strategies have cemented our status as a leading business across Europe.”