International visitors who attended the recent British & International Franchise Exhibition were impressed with the strength and diversity the UK franchise market offers, with many planning to expand their business interests here in the future.
Delegates from Eastern and Central Europe, Brazil, Mexico, the USA and Asia descended on Olympia, London to attend a series of executive seminars, roundtable briefing sessions and the Franchise Marketing Awards, with many attendees being finalists in the Best International Marketing Campaign category.
“The International Zone of the exhibition is an ideal platform for international franchisors looking to expand around the globe to meet with like-minded business people and discuss their plans,” says Angela Bachfeld, director and franchise specialist at FranFind.com, which organised the International Zone with the International Franchise Consultants Network (IFCN) and Venture Marketing Group. “There’s no other forum like this where we can get people from all over the world together in one place, whilst also showcasing the UK’s franchise industry.”
Attending international visitors included Fresh ‘N’ Friends Foodstore of Germany, Laatutakuu from Finland and Prendamex of Mexico.
“The UK and US are the world leaders in franchising and visiting the exhibition has shown me what an impressive market the UK has, especially for my concept of convenience stores which serve organic food,” said Anton Kerler, CEO at Fresh ‘N’ Friends. “We have plans to expand our concept to the UK and other markets so this event was extremely interesting and worthwhile to meet people and participate in insightful workshops.”
The exhibition organiser was also delighted with the success of the International Zone.
“The British & International Franchise Exhibition is just that - an international event dedicated to showcasing our franchise industry, and our international visitors and VIP guests weren’t disappointed with what we have to offer,” said David Tuck, franchise sales manager at Venture Marketing Group.
Visit www.franchiseinfo.co.uk for more information.