By Ellen Joy Anastacio

The Franchising & Licensing Association Singapore (FLA) yesterday unveiled the finalists for the prestigious FLA Award 2009 in the categories of Franchisor of the Year, Promising Franchisor of the Year and Franchisee of the Year.

The Manhattan Fish Market, whose concept for fresh and flavourful seafood goes back over 180 years, and Contours Express, a chain of women-only fitness and weight loss gyms, are the two finalists for Franchisor of the Year.

Explaining why The Manhattan Fish Market decided to franchise, Mr Dickson Low, COO, said: "The only way to survive is to grow. Franchising is a win-win formula if you believe in yourself, the product and the system."

Three educational franchises, namely CMA Mental Arithmetic, Little Neuro Tree and MindChamps PreSchool are up against Nanyang Old Coffee, a chain which aims to reintroduce Singapore coffee to Singapore and the world, for the Promising Franchisor of the Year award.

Little Neuro Tree CEO Mr David Ng says there are two things that are core to their company's vision: accessibility and affordability.

In looking for franchisees, he said his company "looked for like-minded people who believe in the same vision and philosophy and who can bring the programme to the rest of Singapore".

Kinderland's child-care franchise in Siglap, owned by Mrs Janet Ho, and the Little Neuro Tree franchise in Hougang, which was set up by three parents, are the two finalists of the Franchisee of the Year 2009.

Both Mrs Janet Ho, director of Kinderland Child Care in Siglap and Ms Ivy Lim, Business Development Director of Neuro Tree Hougang believe that passion is key to being a successful franchisee.

Mrs Ho explains: "The three P's that a franchisee should have are passion, product, and people. You must have passion in it, you need a very good product, and I can't do this by myself. I need a team of people to help."

The winners for the categories above, as well as the winner of the International Franchisor of the Year, will be announced during a Gala dinner on October 16 at the Pan Pacific Hotel.

Successful franchises

According to Douglas Foo, Chairman of the FLA, in the past year, the estimated contract value of the franchises sold as a result of FLAsia 2008 increased by almost 41 per cent.

In line with this trend, the Institute of Certified Franchise Executives (ICFE) and the FLA announced yesterday that they will jointly launch the Certified Franchise Executive Programme in Singapore during FLAsia 2009, to be held from October 15-17, 2009 at Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre, Level 4.

With this collaboration, FLA & ICFE will develop educational programmes which will be offered throughout the year. Candidates will need to complete an extensive course of study, and meet experience, participation, and ethics requirements to be awarded the CFE certification.