HORWATH FRANCHISING AND NATWEST PROVE TO BE A DRIVING FORCE AT THIS YEAR'S FRANCHISOR SUPPLIER SHOWCASE EVENT

Following the success of last year's inaugural event, NatWest joined with Horwath Franchising to present the 2004 Franchisor Supplier Showcase, which was held in conjunction with BMW/WilliamsF1 at their Conference Centre at Wantage, Oxfordshire. The day was dedicated to presenting specialist suppliers to franchisors and their managers within the franchise industry.

The line-up of exhibitors presented a range of topics including franchisee profiling systems, online franchisee recruitment solutions, print management systems and coaching techniques to improve motivation and performance. Issues surrounding employment law, health & safety and taxation were explained and outlined as to how they affect franchise organisations. Another presentation dealt with corporate insurance claims and how to ensure full and sustainable business recovery, whilst a leading franchisor explained the high-quality telecommunication products and services they are able to offer to other franchise organisations. The Franchise Support Centre used the event to launch its range of services and explain the benefits of using this 'One-Stop Shop' for outsourcing the vital services needed to develop and manage franchise businesses.

The success of the day enabled franchisors to network with fellow colleagues within the franchise industry. Pleased with the success of the event, Brian Duckett, managing director of Horwath Franchising said: "We have received excellent feedback, both from the delegates and the presenters. Delegates enjoyed the range of presentations and the suppliers came away with several high quality leads, that should lead to major accounts."

Anne Phillips, of Primary Books Ltd books commented: "The day proved to be very useful for me and I would certainly recommend the event to my colleagues. It was an excellent day and I will use the services of at least two of the ten showcase companies."

Paul Davies from Ben & Jerry's supported this by stating: "The day was extremely well organised with a good balance of presentations and time allowed to network. The day was professional and informative."
Delegates, including representatives from Interlink, Mr Electric, MFI, Wimpy, easyGroup, ERA, and Thorntons, all had the opportunity to tour around Williams' stable of F1 top-performance cars.

Mark Scott, from NatWest concluded: "We have been delighted to be involved in this successful event. We believe it essential that franchisors are kept up to date with developments from within the industry, in order to stay ahead of their competitors. The success of the day demonstrates that there is a definite need for this kind of activity and we have been more than happy to support the event."