FASTSIGNS International, Inc., franchisor of FASTSIGNS, the leading sign, graphics and visual communications franchise, announced today it has been recognized by the Canadian Franchise Association as a recipient of the Franchisees’ Choice designation. FASTSIGNS was recognized for its accomplishment in receiving the designation every year since 2013.
“We are incredibly proud of our high level of franchisee satisfaction throughout the FASTSIGNS system and honored to be one of a select few brands that have received this designation from the CFA for six consecutive years,” said Catherine Monson, CEO of FASTSIGNS International, Inc. “We are committed to franchisee satisfaction. We will continue to allocate a significant amount of resources in the future, as we have over the last decade, to ensuring FASTSIGNS International’s leadership, training, service, and support for our franchisees, as well as the franchisor-franchisee relationship, are world class. We have more than 30 open and approved markets ready to develop in Canada and look forward to continuing to grow the FASTSIGNS brand throughout Canada.”
The Franchisees’ Choice designees are CFA member franchise systems who voluntarily took part in an independently-administered survey. This year, more than 70 CFA member franchise systems participated in the survey. Franchisees were asked to assess their franchisor in key areas of the franchise business model, including the franchisee selection process; franchisee information package; leadership; business planning and marketing; training and support; ongoing operations; and the relationship between the franchisor and franchisee.
In the due diligence process of investigating a franchise opportunity, speaking with existing franchisees about the opportunity being explored is essential. For prospective franchisees, the Franchisees’ Choice designation identifies that a franchise brand has received solid endorsement and ratings from its franchisees. The 2018 Franchisees’ Choice designees are representative of the spectrum of franchise opportunities and the diversity and excellence of CFA members.
“The true strength of a franchise system lies in the mutually-rewarding relationship between a franchisor and its franchisees,” said Lorraine McLachlan, CFA President and Chief Executive Officer. “Being a Franchisees’ Choice designee is an honour and a vote of confidence because the high rankings in franchisee satisfaction come directly from the franchisees themselves.”
FASTSIGNS currently has over 30 centers throughout Canada, including two recent openings in Calgary and additional centers slated to open in Winnipeg and Edmonton, among other cities, in the coming months. The brand projects opening 5-7 new centers each year over the next several years and is actively seeking prospective franchisees throughout the country, including a Master Franchisee to develop new centers in Quebec. Across North America, FASTSIGNS has over 400 markets ready for development. Internationally, FASTSIGNS is continuing to seek qualified candidates to grow its international footprint in target markets throughout the world, including Brazil, Quebec, North Africa, Southeast Asia, India, Europe, and Latin America.
FASTSIGNS International, Inc. was ranked the #1 franchise opportunity in its category and 70 overall on Entrepreneur magazine’s 2018 Franchise 500, the world’s first, best and most comprehensive franchise ranking. Acknowledged by entrepreneurs and franchisors as a top competitive tool of measurement, the Franchise 500 recognizes FASTSIGNS, the only sign, graphics, and visual communications franchise to be recognized in the top 100, for its exceptional performance in areas including financial strength and stability, growth rate and brand power. FASTSIGNS also has been recognized for its franchisee satisfaction by being named a World Class Franchise by the Franchise Research Institute for five consecutive years and has been ranked by Franchise Business Review as one of the “Best of the Best” for franchisee satisfaction for the last 10 years. Additionally, FASTSIGNS also was named to Franchise Business Review’s “Innovative Franchises” list in 2017 and a “Best-in-Category” franchise by Franchise Business Review in 2018.