GF podcast: Mary Aldred of the Franchise Council of Australia

This episode of the Global Franchise Podcast is brought to you by fit20, a revolutionary 20-minute fitness concept disrupting the industry. For more information about how you can become a part of this exciting network, head over to fit20.com.

The Australian franchise market has proven to be enticing for major international brands for decades, and even during an ongoing pandemic, large franchisors are flocking to its shores to take advantage of the country’s internationally-minded consumers who have an awareness of the franchise business model.

But Australia is also still experiencing the challenging shockwaves caused by COVID-19. Many regions of the country are going into snap lockdowns mandated by the government, and the Australian business community is struggling to stay afloat. As of mid-July, for example, 40 per cent of the country’s population were under strict stay-at-home orders, preventing a return to any kind of normalcy.

For this episode of the podcast, we wanted to get a clear picture of what it’s like to franchise within Australia at the moment. Who better to join us, then, than Mary Aldred, CEO of Franchise Council of Australia. Mary has been in the role since 2018 and grew up around family-owned small businesses. She has a true appreciation for how this sector of the market operates, making her the perfect voice to dissect Aussie franchising.