The franchise market has been one of the most important sectors of the Polish economy, business and activity of Polish entrepreneurs for years. This year’s 9th BEST FRANCHISE Franchise Leaders Conference was the first opportunity for direct meetings and discussions between franchisors and franchisees. Both parties commented on the Code of Good Practice for the Franchise Market and the Franchise Act, which is still being worked on.
Representatives of both could confront their observations on the franchise market and the principles of franchise cooperation. – The Polish Franchisor Organization promotes solutions enshrined in the self-regulatory Code of Good Practice in Franchising. The franchise market is so civilized at the moment that such extensive self-regulation would certainly be enough, while the Act carries the risk of overregulation of the market. Now, when settling disputes, the court may take into account the provisions of the Code. This means that the document is legally binding and obliges the chains to comply with the rules of functioning on the market and to maintain appropriate relations with franchisees – says Arkadiusz Słodkowski, member of the board of the Polish Franchisor Organization. – At McDonald’s Polska, the Code of Good Practice is attached to the franchise agreement and other documents with all procedures for new franchisees. The Code is consistent with the principles that we follow at McDonald’s in cooperation with franchisees – adds Monika Dąbrowska, president of the Polish Franchisor Organization and manager, people team leader at McDonald’s Polska.
According to Jakub Perske, a Żabka franchisee, who participated in the meeting of franchisors with franchisees, the Code of Good Practice helps in communication between both parties and secures the conditions for good cooperation. According to Marcin Górski, member of the management board of AlCapone sp. z o.o. the participation of franchisees in the discussion on the regulations of the franchise market and the Code of Good Practice is its key element. – Thanks to this, we have the opportunity to look at the same issues from two sides and find a point of agreement – Marcin Górski, member of the management board of AlCapone sp. z o.o.
The BEST FRANCHISE Franchise Leaders Conference is not only talks about the Code of Good Practice and the Franchise Act. The traditional topic of the BEST FRANCHISE Conference was the economic situation in Poland and in the world. Piotr Bielski, director of the economic analysis department of Santander Bank Polska, in his lecture “Economy (again) at the crossroads” assured that things are not too bad. – Last year was marked by a slowdown in the global economy. Fortunately, the mood began to improve at the turn of 2022/2023, and despite the still many negative factors, such as the war in Ukraine or the economic crisis, services, which are the driving force of economic development in most countries, are developing quite well – he assures Piotr Bielski.
Participants of the event could also listen to lectures and take part in workshops, the subject of which is unobviously related to business. An example is the lecture by Robert Zydel, director of the State Museum of Ethnography in Warsaw, entitled “Business in collision with ethnography and cultural anthropology”. In turn, Kalina Kalińczak, a radio and television journalist, an expert in public speaking, the Polish language and the author of the ĄĘ quizzes on Instagram, gave tips on “How to speak so that we are listened to”. Roman Polko, general, commando, twice commander of the elite GROM unit, based his speech on the question “Why plan, if no plan will survive confrontation with reality?”, and Piotr Bucki, an expert in communication based on cognitive psychology and neurosciences in lecture “Sapiens on shopping – how do we evaluate, choose and buy?” presented various techniques of influencing consumers.
The conference is also an opportunity for behind-the-scenes talks. – Despite the diversity of franchise networks, we were able to exchange experiences, talk about current challenges and how we deal with them. I consider it one of the most valuable elements of the conference – Magdalena Parfianowicz, DaGrasso Operations Manager. – The Franchise Leaders Conference is a fantastic place where we can literally meet franchise leaders in Poland. Many interesting meetings, talks, very interesting lectures. From my point of view, it is not only a place for franchisees and franchisors, but also for people who plan to develop their own business – Wojciech Olearnik, director of the partner network department of VeloBank.
