Saks franchisee conference heads to lisbon

In their 40th anniversary year, the Saks Franchisee Conference saw the salon group head to Lisbon for four days of business inspiration and celebration. Joining Saks franchisees were key suppliers and HQ staff, as well as special guests who had won their place as part of their prize at the Saks Awards. Hosted at the Tivoli Lisboa hotel, the main focus of the conference was the 'Apprentice Challenge'. This activity saw teams pitching some of Portugal's most famous products to a panel in a task designed to showcase their selling skills. The winning team achieved marketing magic to hear the words ‘you’re hired’ with their perfect pitch to develop and reposition Portugal’s famous alcoholic beverages to target a younger market in the UK. Making up the winning 'Seven Deadly Sins' team were Tina Rook, head of Saks apprenticeships; Tanya Flynn, Saks Dundee; Paul Carrigan and Karen Williams, Saks Leeds; Jodie Brook and John Goddard, Saks Skipton and Helen Gee from sponsor Towergate Insurance. The trip also gave attendees the chance to network, fit in some sightseeing and enjoy the sunshine - as well as plenty of time to party and let their hair down. Stephen Kee, managing Director at Saks, says: "We always get a great response from our conferences but Portugal has exceeded all expectations. This year is a huge 40th year celebration for us all and due to our expansion plans we’ve got quite a few new people in our network too. "Portugal was a perfect opportunity to show our new colleagues exactly what makes Saks special – they got a real flavour of what being part of our network brings. We also took our Saks Awards winners this time as it’s equally important to reward our superstars too."