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Franchise in its various forms touches every aspect of our daily existence; the coffee we buy on the way to work, our children's education, and development, where we dine-out, how we use our leisure time and the way we spend our disposable income, are just a few examples of its impact.
Perhaps it's most visible influence has been on the general retail, food, and beverage offering. Furey continues; "Take a look at any one of the region's premier malls and you will find that more than 90% of the outlets are international franchise concepts."
In this sector, there is a cluster of major players including the M.H. Al Shaya Company; the Azadea Group; and the Jawad Business Group, amongst others, who between them manage hundreds of franchises and thousands of outlets, and there are smaller operators too managing innovative and exciting retail concepts.
However, the regions' franchise footprint is not solely retail driven. Furey says, "It is important that we do not underestimate the impact of franchise on the region's broader business sectors. The hospitality sector, training and education, media and publications and health and wellbeing, are also sectors which are imbued with franchise relationships."
The region makes for a fascinating case study, Furey continues, "We have seen examples where concept sales performance, the number of units or market share value, is greater regionally than the international home market. Combine this with the pressures on Principals for financing, we may see a rise in mergers and acquisitions and buy-outs of international Principal [Franchisors] by some of the region's key players. On a regional level, we can certainly expect changes and perhaps a culling of some brands to make way for new and more innovative formats in a bid to stimulate customer interest."
In today's volatile marketplace we all need to hone our skills, think more carefully about our resources and manage both our business and consumer relationships vigilantly. The Franchise Arabia conference will provide the ideal knowledge exchange, intelligence gathering, and networking platform for those already involved in franchise related businesses, those thinking about getting involved in franchise or those wanting to know more about the opportunities the region presents.
The conference will feature some of the best-in-field international and regional business leaders and will debate areas such as brand management, legal , regulatory and IPR issues, franchise selection and acquisition, negotiation , re-negotiation and arbitration, franchise financial management, market entry strategies, case studies of international success stories and insight into the emerging brands that will be the success stories of tomorrow.
The three day conference programme will feature more than 30 speakers, over two streams and will be complemented by practical workshops for both existing and prospective Franchisees and Franchisors.
Dominic McGill, Chairman of Nexus Holdings & Associates Ltd, organiser of the Franchise Arabia Conference and Exhibition, says:
"We have been thrilled by the initial response to the event profile at both an international and regional level. There is no existing platform for franchise investors and senior executives to debate relevant and meaningful franchise related topics and to network with industry professionals. The Franchise Arabia formula has been carefully constructed and will set new benchmarks in the region's franchise events calendar."
The event will take place at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre [ADNEC] Mc Gill says, "ADNEC provides truly world-class facilities and its positioning is perfectly aligned for the Franchise Arabia event. Abu Dhabi itself, a significant regional economic hub with excellent transport connections and a superb infrastructure is fast on the way to becoming the regions undisputed first choice MICE destination for both hosts and visitors."
Posted by Rana Mesbah
