FRANCHISING & LICENSING ASIA 2012 COMES TO A SUCCESSFUL CLOSE
Franchising & Licensing Asia (FLAsia) 2012, the international event for entrepreneurship, business opportunities & intellectual property rights in Asia, took place successfully over three days from 1 to 3 November. The opening ceremony on 1 November was graced by Mr Lee Yi Shyan, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry & Ministry of National Development. The event saw over 10,000 visitors, delegates and exhibitors, breaking all previous records to become the most successful FLAsia since the economic downturn in 2008.
This year, the show saw a 15 % increase in floor space, with over 217 participants showcasing a range of franchise brands, license properties and business concepts from diverse industries such as Food & Beverages, Health & Wellness and Education. More than 24 countries were represented at the show, and a total of five country pavilions were formed (Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and USA), including inaugural ones from Japan and Taiwan.
Exhibitors were impressed with the seventh edition of FLAsia and the deals closed at the event.
Mr Wonhyu Park, Chief Commissioner of Government Policy Department, Korea Franchise Association, said: “Singapore is one of the best Asian hubs to meet visitors and potential buyers. This is our third year exhibiting at FLAsia and in line with our expectations, we have seen good quality visitors and this surely is the best place to meet serious buyers as our exhibitors housed under the Korea Pavilion have found so.”
Fellow exhibitor, Mr Marc Ng, Chief Executive Officer of Berrylite and 1962 Tofu (Firsttime exhibitor under the Korea Pavilion) signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a franchise deal, and are likely to confirm the partnership after a visit to 1962 Tofu’s outlet in Korea.
Mr Jiro Yamasaki, General Manager, ASEAN Business, Executive Office, AEON Group, said: “So far, the response from visitors have been very good for us. This show is an excellent opportunity for Japanese exhibitors, franchisors to be at. We hope that many Japanese companies will participate next year!”
Mr Alain Leduc, International Franchise Manager of Delifrance, said: “We met with many international Asian visitors at FLAsia. The exhibition was excellent for sales development for all of Asia.”
The supporting conference and workshop featured seven key industry speakers and was centred around the theme of “Spotting Gold in the Asian Franchise Market”, which touched on the lucrative franchising opportunities in the Asian region. There was also sharing by successful brands across Asia and leading industry experts, allowing attendees to gain valuable insights from actual scenarios and case studies, as well as pick up practical advice.
FLAsia is presented by Franchising & Licensing Association (Singapore), and organised by Singapore Press Holdings’ BizLink Exhibition Services Pte Ltd. FLAsia 2012 was supported by International Enterprise Singapore, Intellectual Property Office of Singapore, SPRING Singapore, World Franchise Council, Asia Pacific Franchise Confederation, Singapore Workforce Development Agency, Association of Small and Medium Enterprises and Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
The next edition of FLAsia will be held from 3 to 5 October in 2013. Photos of the exhibition, conference and workshop will be published shortly on the FLAsia website at www.FranchiseLicenseAsia.com
[box style=”rounded” border=”full”]For further information, please visit www.FranchiseLicenseAsia.com[/box]
