Joanna Lumley hosts Guinot’s annual awards ceremony in London

Absolutely Fabulous star Joanna Lumley hosted The Guinot Conference and Awards 2016 at The Brewery in London last month and set the year off to a great start for the health and beauty franchise.

Providing the perfect platform to promote opportunities to potential franchisees, the conference was attended by 340 delegates, including representatives from top accounts in the industry, as well as smaller accounts that were looking to grow with the help of Guinot.

The conference attracted a lot of franchising interest, including the expansion of many Guinot Crown accounts, which represent the elite Guinot salons in the UK and Ireland, and the smaller accounts looking for support from a high-profile brand. Throughout the afternoon the event held educational seminars from industry experts including Hellen Ward, Liz McKeon, Susan Routledge and Valerie Delforge from Wahanda.

For many of the salons attending, this was their first Guinot conference and their first exposure to franchising. The breakout sessions provided the perfect opportunity for delegates to find out more, as franchise sales and development manager Ellie Tidy was on hand to answer any questions on the night.

Speaking at the conference, Ellie commented: “We are expecting a strong year of growth in 2016 as the Guinot franchise opportunity is getting increased visibility in targeted media, so news of the franchise is reaching further than ever before.

“The conference was very successful at reaching a captive market of Guinot salon owners; conversions are an intrinsic part of our recruitment strategy, as these salons are already familiar with the brand and have a lot of the infrastructure in place already. However, we are equally equipped to accommodate start-ups from scratch and offer them all the essential support they need to get up and running.”