Expofranquicia 2008: The franchise industry will once again attend its grand annual event at the Franchising Trade Fair

Expofranquicia 08 is due to take place between 22nd and 24th May 2008 in Hall 10 at Feria de Madrid. This fair, which will once again confirm its role as a key business forum for this sector, will use its fourteenth edition to present the best business opportunities available within the field, based on the participation of more than 350 franchises and leading companies operating on the international market. In view of the favourable prospects that this industry presents, the fair's organisers at IFEMA also predict some excellent contracting figures, specifically a net exhibition area measuring around 7,500 square metres, which would represent a new record in the fair's history and an increase of 7 per cent compared to the previous edition.

One of the most outstanding aspects of this edition will be its high level of foreign participation, which effectively strengthens the fair's positioning on the international fair circuit. In principle, companies from the United States, France, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Portugal and the United Kingdom, among other countries, have already confirmed their attendance at the fair. 

Furthermore, on this occasion Expofranquicia has implemented an intensive national and international promotional campaign aimed at investors. In this respect, the fair is carrying out a number of different marketing and advertising measures, targeting various sectors of interest. This campaign aims to attract new visitors and to maintain the high professional standing and international dimension that characterise Expofranquicia.
 

. Nearly 16,000 Visitors Last Year

The excellent positioning that Expofranquicia enjoys has been strengthened throughout the fair's fourteen-year existence. Specifically, at its year 2007 edition, the fair welcomed some 15,825 visitors, who revealed a considerable knowledge of this economic segment. Furthermore, the event achieved a number of record figures in different areas, based on 241 direct exhibitors (which represented an increase of 26% compared to the year 2006), the participation of 346 franchises (an increase of 12%) and a net exhibition area measuring 7,053 square metres (an increase of 15%).

With these assets, Expofranquicia 08 will once again present the best offer from this important economic sector, which is aimed at the Foodstuffs and mass consumer goods sectors; Household Furnishing; Hotel and Catering; Personal Outfitting; Business Services and Specialized Services; Consulting; Finance Companies; Dry-cleaning, Leisure and Education, and Specialized Magazines sectors.

For their part, the two most important professional associations within the industry, the Spanish Franchisers Association, AEF, and the Spanish Association for the Development and Defence of Franchising, AEDEF, have also renewed their complete backing for the fair.

.  The Second  Madrid Franchise Forum

Finally, we might also mention the fact that Expofranquicia'08 will organise the Madrid Franchise Forum
 for the second time. This event will consist of the staging of an interesting programme of specialised conferences aimed at boosting training and consensus among professionals within this sector. This Forum will host a series of roundtables, debates, conferences, personalised consulting sessions, etc., an entire range of meetings that will offer participants an integral overview of the current state of the franchising sector in Spain. In this respect, the Franchising Forum will become a key-debating chamber for the industry. Access to this event, organised by Expofranquicia in collaboration with the Madrid Chamber of Trade and Industry and  MundoFranquicia Consulting, will be free. At the fair's last edition, these conferences were very highly rated, being attended by some 1,000 professionals and investors.