Hear about the Leeds team visit to the FASTSIGNS UK convention where we won the award for the store with the highest turnover in the country.
The past year has seen a lot of transition. We began in full lockdown and gradually helped businesses reopen and welcome customers back. Our signage and graphics production hasn’t stopped, with safety and social distancing signs needed for a whole range of purposes.
While we have been producing products throughout the lockdowns, there have been limited staff around, with most working from home. It was great to finally get a team outing in the diary, with a trip to the annual FASTSIGNS UK convention, held at the Hilton at St George's Park, which is the home of the English Football teams in Burton upon Trent.
The event took place on Friday the 5th and Saturday the 6th of November. Directors Andy and Chris Simpson attended, along with account managers Stacey and Becky, our designers Vinny and Jonny, and Calum from our production team. Carole and Cliff stayed behind on dog sitting duties.
It felt great to get back to in person conversations and catch ups this year. The convention is always a brilliant opportunity to meet fellow franchisees and suppliers to share ideas and hear about new materials and products. It’s chance to celebrate the previous 12 months achievements.
Award recognition
We were proud to receive the award for the highest turnover of the UK stores, winning for the 10th time and the 8th year consecutively! The award goes to show the hard work the team put in helping the people of Leeds get the signs and graphics they needed under difficult circumstances.
Here’s us winning in 2019:
Rebecca was second in the salesperson turnover category and Cliff was runner up in the employee of the year award category. We have an amazing team at FASTSIGNS® Leeds who have a wealth of experience and expertise, and moments like this display this.
Discovering exciting new products
One of the benefits of the convention is we hear what other stores are doing and meet suppliers with new equipment and materials. There are lots of inventive products on the horizon for the coming months and the convention is a chance to see some of these in action.
Some of the products we saw included graffiti repellent laminate, architectural furniture and door wraps, and various environmentally friendly products. Here’s a snap of Vinny and Jonny checking out some of the new equipment on display!
Vinny and Jonny eyeing up a new toy at the @FASTSIGNSofUK Convention! 😂 pic.twitter.com/ZkoCeDKCJW
— FASTSIGNS® Leeds (@FASTSIGNSLeeds) November 5, 2021
Catching up with old friends
A highlight for everyone was getting the chance to meet and talk to others in person. Andy caught up with Melanie who co-owns FASTSIGNS Crawley. She started working for a FASTSIGNS in London in 1995, which was the year we opened. Andy and Melanie go back a long way!
The casino theme at the party after the awards dinner proved to be a big hit. It seems we have a lot of keen gamblers in the FASTSIGNS community! Overall, the event was fantastic, and we’re excited to bring some of the things we learnt back to our Leeds customers.
Want to update your signs and graphics for the new year? Get in touch with our team.