As part of Punch Taverns’ continued commitment to work closely with their Partners, a selection of licensees from Punch pubs were invited to take part in a National Partner Forum.
The forum took place at the Punch Taverns Burton head office in November.
This was the second such event following a successful test forum in the Summer which was supported by the Federation of Licensed Victuallers Association (FLVA).
Licensees attended from pubs across the UK to discuss areas at the heart of their business, ranging from better access to marketing materials to software systems which could improve business efficiency, as well as key issues surrounding the pub industry.
Richard Giles, Managing Director of B.G. Inns which operate two Punch pubs in the Cheshire area, found the forums very beneficial: “It was a great opportunity to talk to senior Punch board members about real issues and understand how Punch is reacting to current market conditions. It’s an extremely positive initiative and I believe it is a good move by Punch to build stronger relationships going forward.”
Martin Young, who runs two Punch pubs and travelled the 900-mile round trip from Aberdeen to attend, said: “For me, I enjoyed getting to know about Punch and the overall strategy. It is a very open culture and they are transparent with their Partners.
“The Forum allowed us to see how Punch are making headway on changing lease templates and making advances in their code of practice. More importantly, I felt that I could get a direct answer to topics that are important to me and my businesses.”
Initiatives which have been developed as a result of the last Partner forum included the role of the Partnership Development Manager and the difficulties licensees face obtaining glassware. As a direct response, Punch recruited Regional Launch Managers to focus on their invested sites so the Partnership Development Managers can concentrate on driving the Partner’s business. Punch also implemented ‘Best in Glass’ – an initiative where partners who cleaned beer lines regularly were rewarded with glassware.
Punch also receives feedback from Partners through the Partner blog and Partner survey on the Punch Buying Club website, the HIM survey and the Contact Centre.
David Wigham, Operations Director, said: “We found the forum very useful, helping us look more closely at the needs of our partners and to develop a number of initiatives. Feedback from the partners who attended was very positive and has encouraged us to plan more similar events.
The forums are just one of our many initiatives to help us build strong working relationships with our partners and to maximise the value we add to their businesses,” he continued.