October 31, 2024
After attending the National Franchise Exhibition 2024, I wanted to share my thoughts and experiences with you all. I truly love attending any franchise events I can, I feel that franchising is an incredible industry to be in and it's a great community to be a part of.
To start the day, we heard from The BFA’s CEO, Pip Wilkins QFP with some overarching statistics and findings from the new 2024 British Franchise Journal. Being the data nerds of franchising, we loved to hear the new stats and see how things in the UK franchise industry have changed. Stuart made an unexpected cameo appearance on one of the slides of the presentation which, of course, caused a few giggles, especially as it took me pointing out to Stuart that it was him. We will be taking the time to scour through the journal to update our knowledge and understanding of the industry and its changes as a team.
After the presentation, Stuart and I got to chat and catch up with some of our franchising friends, having great conversations about plans moving forward, new products and innovations on the horizon. Getting the chance to catch up and talk about what things are coming next for everyone in person is one of the reasons I try to make it to as many events in franchising as I can. It’s probably the favourite part of my job.
Before arriving at the NEC, I pointed out that there was a vast list of people that we needed to make sure we go and say hello to and have a proper catch-up with at the show. As the morning turned to afternoon Stuart and I realised we may not be able to get around to seeing everyone. A great issue to have was that they could not go more than a few steps without seeing another franchise friend that we, of course, wanted to catch up with. It was a lovely realization that there was not enough time in the day at the event because of how many friends we have in the industry and possibly a lesson that next time we will have to be more regimented with our time, but we are both big talkers and love to chat and get caught up on what everyone had been up to and what’s coming next.
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