Franchising Awards 2022 from the Portuguese Franchising Association distinguished the best brands in the industry in its various categories. Among the winners, who are now competing for European Franchising Awards, to be delivered in September, a highlight is Remax, which won the Super Master category.
Lisbon, May 20, 2022 – The Portuguese Franchising Association (APF) today awarded the best brands in the industry in Portugal with the 2022 Franchising Awards. In a ceremony held at the Cascais Cultural Center, APF distinguished the performance of companies in various segments.
Remax was the big winner, winning the Super Master Franchisee of the Year category and an Honorable Mention in Resilience. The same mention distinguished MaxFinance, UNU, Urban Orbas and Melom. The latter also obtained first place in International Brand and second place in Franchisor of the Year (Master category), while third place in the same category was achieved by MaxFinance.
Fitness Factory stands out with two first prizes: Franchisor of the Year (Youth category) and Resilience. House Shine won the Full Franchisee of the Year category and ranked second in Resilience while Best Travel was ranked first in the Master Franchisee of the Year category and third in Resilience.
The second place in the Franchisee of the Year award, Young category, was given to UNU and the third to Luzzo. The latter was at the same time the Franchisee of the Year Award winner, while the Emerging Franchisee Award was won by Harab's.
“It is with great satisfaction that we distinguish the winning brands of the 2022 Franchising Awards for their professionalism and entrepreneurship in a context of uncertainty and adaptation to a new reality”, says the company. Secretary General and CEO of APF, Cristina Matos. “The awards value the best that brands, franchisors and franchisees do and stimulate the growth of franchising as a pillar of entrepreneurship, job creation and economic development”, he adds.
Ten companies from different sectors competed for the 2022 Franchising Awards – which distinguish brands operating in the franchise market in Portugal for the best management practices in franchising.
The classification was reached after the occasional weighting between a survey among franchise chains of franchisees and employees and an assessment by an independent jury. The categories vary according to the number of franchisees, franchised units and number of years as a franchisor, while performance is evaluated in its global, economic, operational, relationship and sensitivity dimensions.
Billing, units, differentiation, international presence, support for franchisees, training and integration, brand differentiation, organizational culture and relationship between franchisors and franchisees form some of the criteria evaluated in the APF 2022 Franchising Awards.
This year, the awards included the special Resilience category, in which brands were evaluated for the impact of Covid-19 on their activity and the way they dealt with the problem and support for franchisees and what made them different during the pandemic.
Most of the winners of the first APF Seals of Excellence, awarded during the 2022th edition of Expofranchise, in March, competed for the 25 Franchising Awards of the Portuguese Franchising Association, and the first classified will compete for the awards of the European Franchise Federation, at a ceremony to take place in September in Brussels.
In 2020, the franchising sector accounted for 159 openings, a figure that, despite being a decrease compared to the previous year, is surprising and showing a positive trend. In 2019, franchising represented 30 thousand companies and almost 200 thousand jobs, spread over 557 brands, which generated a turnover of 11 billion euros. In this period it represented 5,8% of GDP.
“Franchising offers franchisees a business model that encompasses know-how, procedures, intellectual property, provides support at the time of implementation and allows strong brand recognition. The industry-associated process helps reduce the risk associated with starting a new business operation.” highlights Cristina Matos.
About APF – Portuguese Franchising Association
APF – Associação Portuguesa de Franchising is a non-profit private association, established in 1987.
Its main mission is the study, dissemination and promotion of franchising in Portugal as a business development system and as a solution for the creation and expansion of SMEs in the domestic and international market. It intends to actively contribute to the dynamism of entrepreneurship in Portugal and the creation of businesses through the franchising system.
Additional information at www.associacaofranchising.pt
