Franchising success celebrated at Victoria / Tasmania Franchising Awards Gala

The VIC/TAS franchise community celebrated an outstanding year in business at the VIC/TAS Excellence in Franchising Awards gala dinner at the Crown Entertainment Complex in Melbourne on Friday night (6 Aug).

 

The Gala event was MC’d by Mike Ramsay, of FCA Alliance Partner – Charter Security

 

The Excellence in Franchising Awards celebrates – both regionally and nationally – the success of hard working Australian small business people in the franchise sector.

 

Brad & Katherine Underhill, Matchbox – Eastland, Doncaster & Knox took out the VIC/TAS Multi-Unit Franchisee of the Year Award. Their success is due – in part – to their emphasis on high customer service, which is monitored by mystery shopper reports. The results of the reports are fed back to the staff at their stores and rewards are given for results above 90%. Financial bonuses are also given to high-performing store managers. This dedication to staff well-being and performance has enabled Brad and Katherine to achieve strong growth in the last financial year and makes them worthy winners of this Award.

Runner Up: Matt and Brad Walker, Grill’d – Knox, Camberwell, Southland

 

Ashley Coburn of Bakers Delight – Rosebud took out the VIC/TAS Franchisee of the Year – 2 or more staff Award. Ashley’s Bakers Delight in Rosebud is achieving tremendous growth of 12% in both sales and customer numbers. Ashley attributes this success to the training and development of his staff – to make them think like a retailer. Ashley’s excellence in promotional execution earned him a seat on the Bakers Delight Conference panel to share with other franchisees his methods for success.
1st Runner Up – Darren King, Bakers Delight Lilydale
2nd Runner Up – Ashley Thomson, Action COACH Camberwell
Merit: Marcus Smith & Robert Wall, Lenard’s Newcomb

 

Shane & Sally Cole, Pack & Send – Melbourne City 3 took out the VIC/TAS Franchisee of the Year – Less than 2 staff Award. As a husband and wife business team, Shane and Sally Cole successfully use each other’s strengths to their advantage. While Sally takes charge of the Customer Service and Administration areas of the business, Shane works on Business Management and Development. In 2009 Shane & Sally received an Award for the “Best Risk Managed Store” at the Pack & Send National conference – reinforcing their commitment to smart and strategic business management.

 

Sara Pantaleo, CEO of La Porchetta restaurants took out the VIC/TAS Franchise Woman of the Year Award. The last 12 months for Sara have been as challenging as they come, with the sudden passing of her brother and founder of La Porchetta, Rocky Pantaleo. Sara’s ability to manage the situation, both from a media, business and personal level – and to keep the business focused and on track – reinforced her already strong contributions to the system and the franchise sector this year.

 

Brian and Jo Denvir of Bakers Delight Patterson Lakes took out the VIC/TAS Franchisee Community Service Award for their amazing contributions to local charities and schools. In the last 12 months alone, Brian and Jo have been involved with promoting over 15 local community groups including – 6 local schools, the Carrum/Patterson Lakes Football Club, the Chelsea & Patterson Lakes Community Centre and the Breast Cancer Network of Australia. Their dedication to community groups in their area, and the scope of their involvement – with both their time and money being contributed – made them stand-out winners this year.

 

Alan Sammut, MINIT Australia took out the VIC/TAS Field Manager of the Year Award. Alan is responsible for 49 Mister Minit shops. Alan also played a major role in the development of the original pilot for the MINIT system. Alan’s dedication to his role has seen him visit the homes of several of his franchisees to coach them on the different aspects of the business – providing a personal touch that has endeared him to his franchisees and enabled him to effectively translate the training and development of the system. It is this mixture of business sense, relationship skills and ability to get results that makes Alan a worthy winner of this Award.