I spent Friday last week at the franchise expo in London. I have been to this show for the last 5 years or so and my first impressions this time was that there was much more space than in previous years. The explanation, it seems, is that there were less exhibitors than usual, which could reflect the current economic climate.
Managing to avoid accepting all the pieces of marketing literature offered to me by slick salesmen types and scantily clad ladies, I had a good walk around meeting with a number of companies we have a business relationship with – things don’t change much with these shows..you see the same faces and it is all very ‘same, same but different’ – a common phrase heard in Thailand when you ask the market vendors why you should buy off them rather than someone else with exactly the same wares.
I spoke to one of the show’s marketing guys when the doors had closed that evening, and he seemed very optimistic on the numbers of people who had come through the door – it had seemed rather quiet to me and I challenged him on this but he was adamant that they had hit their target numbers, but would not commit to what they were… Quite a number of franchisors I talked to said that their stands had been pretty quiet throughout the day but they thought it would be busier on the Saturday. A couple of others said that although numbers were down, quality was up, so a bit of a mixed bag.
The stands which had been most busy were the franchise solicitors as they had dealt with a good number of potential franchisors seeking to sort out their franchise agreements and so on.
Saturdays are usually reserved for the family day out and becomes a bit of a free for all, so suited business types and serious contenders ensure they are available to go on the Friday, which is exactly what I did.
As I stood on the packed/delayed 9pm train back to Norwich from London Liverpool Street, I had a look around and had the thought that not even 1% of the 100 or so people packed into my carriage were involved in franchising in any way, even as employees..and this is biggest problem franchisors in the UK face – there is a such a limited pool of people that understand and are looking for franchise opportunities, compared to the 1,000+ franchise brands seeking franchisees, that those brands that achieve their recruitment objectives often have very big budgets, or extremely successful recruitment strategies…
