Key traits of a successful franchise

Mike Vacy-Lyle

Key insights from the 2017 FNB Franchising Leadership Summit

South Africa’s exponential franchises took centre stage at the 6th edition of the annual FNB Franchising Leadership Summit held recently at Indaba Hotel in Fourways, Johannesburg. 

Themed “exponential growth”, the Summit coincides with the world-wide commemoration of Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW), which celebrates the remarkable contribution of entrepreneurs to the global economy. The 2017 Summit focused on unpacking four perspectives of exponential growth, namely: entrepreneurship, brand, employment and personal growth.

Mike Vacy-Lyle, CEO of FNB Business, says, “The franchising sector has some great examples of businesses demonstrating exponential growth like the success story of unique local brands such as RocoMamas. The franchising sector is remarkably resilient and should be celebrated, hence we felt it was important to use Global Entrepreneurship Week to highlight the contribution of this sector to our economy.”

“As a bank which values the role of entrepreneurs, we are delighted to have provided a platform to the people leading some of South Africa’s world-class franchises to relay their first-hand account of what it takes to build a successful business,” adds Vacy Lyle. 

Among the key insights that were shared at the Summit was the need for businesses to deeply understand customer needs and to consistently differentiate themselves. Brian Altriche, Founder of RocoMamas shed light on building honest brands. “People know when something is a fake; you can push it to them for a while but in the end they catch on. In today’s world, brands need to be built on the premise that I am offering what you expect to receive when you read my communication and this is the main thing with digital. The consumer is the one that drives the conversation and people do not complain for the sake of it. Therefore, brands that meet the consumer’s expectations are the ones that will continue to win.”

Gerry Thomas, Managing Director for Krispy Kreme South Africa is of the view that franchises grow exponentially because they have a key market differentiator as a driving force. Furthermore, Thomas believes that winning business formulas create a “need” as opposed to a “want”.

“Exponential franchises are constantly looking for new concepts and innovative ways to make things faster, easier and better. These businesses are not scared to take risks and break with old traditional ways of doing things. Businesses that are embracing this way of thinking will always be miles ahead. We are excited with the incredible success of this year’s Summit and are looking forward to continued involvement by FNB Business in helping to grow this important sector, ”concludes Vacy-Lyle.