National Franchise Show Boston Well Attended
Thousands of would be business owners invested some of their time last weekend to cruise over 60 exhibitors and their opportunities at the National Franchise Show Boston. This is the second year that the National Event Management has produced the Boston Franchise Show. Last year it produced both the Women’s Show and the Franchise Show at the same facility at the same time.
This year the Franchise Show was in a separate location. The traffic while similar in total attendance from last year seemed to have a more serious interest in what the each exhibitor had to offer.
There were national brands such as Aaron Rents, Avis, EmbroidMe, Homevestors, Little Ceasar, Minuteman Press, CartridgeWorld, Papa John’s as well as emerging brands such as Apple Spice Junction, Glamour Secrets, Math Monkey, Crestcom, and Nick n Willy.
There were also local companies looking to expand such as Ronzio Pizza, Zoomin Groomin, Amato’s and Black Jack Pasta Bar.
Leslie Lawrence of National Event Management stated that, “vendor feedback has been very positive, overall the consensus is that the quality of the attendance was very positive and it looks like there will be many sales made from the show.” National Event Management has made a commitment to return to the Bayside Expo Center next year.
Look for National Event management in these upcoming cities: Kansas City, Kansas, October 28th & 29th at the Overland Park International Trade Center, Chicago, Illinois November 18th & 19th at the Rosemont Convention Center. For a complete list visit: www.franchiseshowinfo.com
- Franchise topic:
Jim,
Appreciate the report on the Boston Franchise Show. The Detroit Show also had a Women's Show at the same time as the Franchise Show, but different room.
The shows seem to have their own crowd dynamics that might be different than the market. Did you see any exhibits at the show that were particularly popular? Any new concepts catch your eye?
Mr. Blue MauMau
I am born and raised here in Boston so I always take a parochial view, what caught my eye were the local companies. Ronzio Pizza is from Rhode Island and has been around for over 20 years. They are looking to penetrate the Boston market. They currently have 20 franchisees mostly in Rhode Island. Julian Angelone the President of Ronzio Pizza states, “the quality ingredients we offer, and the local regional taste we capture combined with expert marketing materials and a regional brand name, Ronzio Pizza can compete in the Boston area very successfully.”
Another of the local companies Zoomin Groomin a mobile pet grooming franchise started up a couple of years ago and now has 8 franchises out there in the Boston area. Doug Oakley one of the principals, wants to “get it right”. He goes on to say, “I’m not looking to sell 100’s of franchises, I want to grow slow get good people involved and work to make sure everybody is doing well, we are only as strong as our weakest link.”
Amato’s from Portland, Maine is attempting to establish itself in the Boston area it currently has 13 franchises in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Jeffrey Perkins, the Director of Operations is excited about the possibilities in the Boston area. “People in Boston love quality, they know good Italian food, and that’s what Amato’s is all about quality product, clean, fast reasonable and tasty.”
A new startup called Black Jack Pasta Bar started by Antonio D’Alelio was there at the show, it turns out my mother used buy her fresh pasta from Antonio’s mother “Lilly” on Main Street in Everett. Antonio still operates out of that location and is now offering his mothers great recipes through his Black Jack Pasta Bar.
These regional franchise shows that Event Management produces are a great way for local franchise companies to gain exposure and expand.
Jim Coen, Franchise Perfection, 877-469-3002, jim@franchiseperfection.com, www.franchiseperfetion.com
Jim Coen
877-469-3002
Blog: Lets Talk Franchising
Executive Director of the New England Franchise Association
President, Dunkin Donuts Independent Franchise Owners (DDIFO, Inc.)