Visitor case studies

Previous exhibition successes

A visit to The British & International Franchise Exhibition provides you with the ideal opportunity to not only research potential franchise opportunities, but to meet those who own and run the franchises themselves, and find out the realities of becoming a franchisee.

Here are just some of the success stories from those who visited the exhibition in 2007.

Signs Express Case Study
Steven and Carol Morris, Signs Express (Rotherham)

Steve and Carol Morris, owner of Signs Express (Rotherham), became a Signs Express franchisee after visiting The British & International Franchise Exhibition at Olympia, when looking for interesting business concepts and opportunities.

Steven and Carol Morris both left successful careers in manufacturing and production management to become franchisees for Signs Express.

They were working and living in Suffolk and had decided to open their own business because they had become disheartened by corporate management structure and wanted to make their own decisions whilst doing something they really enjoy.

Steve and Carol’s original plan was to open a shop in their local area but when this fell through, they decided to look at other alternatives and after some in depth internet research decided to opt for a franchised business.

“We realised the importance of having a recognisable company name, with an established good reputation. The benefits of having a back up support team of industry professionals at a head office were also important to us.”

Steve and Carol decided to visit The British & International Franchise Exhibition. “We arrived with a very open mind, not really expecting to find a business that would totally fit our requirements, but to gather information to discuss the options available. Signs Express appealed to us as we have an extensive background in manufacturing and production and enjoyed the varied industry environment.

“Signs Express gave the professional approach and back up support team we were looking for and we were very confident the venture would be a success. We were sure Signs Express was the franchise for us and set about choosing our territory.”

The husband and wife team decided to open their new franchise at a new business park in Rotherham.

The other companies in their business park were the perfect prospects to become their first customers. Immediately they found themselves working with leading companies in the area and global brands such as McDonalds, Mercedes-Benz and the Post Office – with national account contracts secured through Signs Express Head Office.

Steve and Carol have consistently operated above budgeted turnover and have completed work for some very prestigious companies. Keeping updated in technology also helps them to keep ahead of the competition.

In the future they hope to extend their territory to cover the whole of Sheffield and open another production centre.

Shoes Galore Case Study
Marcella Santoni (Hitchin & Luton)

Marcella Santoni came to The British & International Franchise Exhibition, Olympia, London in 2007, looking for a business that she could run from the comfort of her home, whilst bringing up a young family.

“Having spent many years out of the work force bringing up a young family I decided that I needed to get back into work” Marcella explains. After some initial research, she decided that the best solution would be a franchise business and opted to visit The British & International Franchise Exhibition at London’s Olympia.

“In March 2007 I came to The British & International Franchise Exhibition in Olympia looking for suitable businesses. Having received a direct mail shot from Shoes Galore I was initially interested in their concept and decided to visit them on their stand. After a short chat with them I was sold on the idea straight away and decided to purchase the Shoes Galore franchise for the Hitchin & Luton area. I became one of their first pilot schemes for Shoes Galore and over the past 12 months I have enjoyed selling shoes, bags and belts by party plan.

“As a business idea Shoes Galore is fantastic as women love shoes and, putting that together with being able to work around children, it’s one step off perfect! I have found that the shoe party bookings are not hard to come by as long as you ask. Once past that hurdle, you are running your own business. Feeling like the boss was for me a new and exciting challenge.

“I generally run around 2 evening parties a week and now the parties are coming from referrals and word of mouth and even from the gates at the school playground. I don’t have any problem arranging them and selling the shoes. At my best party so far I achieved sales of £683, which meant that I earned £340 in just 3 hours.”

“I would definitely recommend anyone looking to set up a business to come to The British & International Franchise Exhibition at Olympia, London.”

Lasertech Case Study
Neel Shah, Lasertech, North West London

The Lasertech North West London franchise was already a successful, profitable business with three years trading history but for personal reasons the franchisee was looking to sell. Neel Shah, the new franchisee, actually became aware of the potential resale after speaking to Lasertech UK at their stand during The British and International Franchise Show at London Olympia in April 2007.

“I went to the show looking for a new business to business opportunity and literally stumbled on Lasertech without having previously considering a business that sells office products and printer consumables. As I already run a successful mortgage brokerage in North West London, I was looking for something different that would generate good profits quickly and that could operate from my current office premises. Lasertech quite simply fitted the bill!”

Neel very quickly understood the potential of a Lasertech franchise following a short conversation with a member of Lasertech UK staff at the Olympia franchise show, he also clearly understood the potential of purchasing an existing franchise rather than starting from scratch himself.

Following a number of meetings with Lasertech UK at their HQ in Warrington, Cheshire as well as meeting with the current franchisee, Neel put in an offer to buy the North West London franchise business in the summer of 2007.

As Neel already ran a successful business, he really understood the need for a robust business plan. To ensure that his new franchise grew quickly he decided to employ another member of staff from day one and to utilise further existing administration staff.

After completing his training in December 2007, he opened the doors to his new franchise and within just a few short weeks made a significant impact in his local business community by winning a number of key accounts and new customers.