World Franchise Associates, an international franchise development, marketing and media company, is hosting their next World Franchise Convention in conjunction with the Middle East & North Africa Franchise Association (MENAFA) Oct. 29-30 in Dubai. The company has six events planned for 2014, including four in partnership with the MENAFA.
Founded by Paul Cairnie in 1998 and headquartered in London and Chicago, WFA enables franchisors to enter new international markets by assisting them in identifying qualified candidates wishing to invest in a franchise system as an area developer, master franchisee, or multi-unit or multi-country franchisee. WFA regularly hosts one or two day events in different countries, bringing together American franchisors seeking partners and qualified candidates seeking investment opportunities. At the events, franchisors have the opportunity to meet face-to-face with prospective franchise partners and participate in panels and presentations on the future of their company’s international development.
“We are a sales organization that gets deals done,” Martin Hancock, CEO of WFA, explains. “There is no better way of bringing together franchised brands and investors.”
Clients for WFA consist of companies in most franchising sectors, especially food, hospitality, retail, and service, and include brands such as Conde Nast, Earl of Sandwich, Joe’s Crab Shack and Smoothie King.
“Food concepts are still the most popular,” said Hancock, “But we are also seeing strong interest in service brands from operators looking to diversify their portfolios.”
According to recent reports, the global franchise industry will be worth $5 trillion by 2020 and 50 percent of the top 200 franchised brands’ units will be overseas within a decade. The struggling economy in the United States coupled with increasingly saturated markets has caused brands to look elsewhere for revenue and growth opportunities.
“The Middle East is an exceptional market for multi-unit and multi-country franchise agreements,” Hancock said. “There is a very high demand for American brands in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Jordan as well as in emerging markets like Oman, Morocco and Tunisia.”
The WFA has also seen increased interest from Russia and East and Central Europe, as well as South and Central America, particularly Brazil, Colombia and Panama.
WFA services are paid for through a success fee. There is also a marketing fee that covers building the franchisor prospectus and profile as well as inclusion in all WFA marketing activities. That marketing fee gives the franchisor a presence at all WFA events for one year, including a guaranteed presenters spot. For more information, visit www.worldfranchiseassociates.com.
