Some exhibitors seen packing early at Franchise Expo

Jim Stephenson (right)

The 2017 Macao Franchise Expo (MFE), an annual event for the franchising industry, ended yesterday after attracting more than 140 international exhibitors.

During last year’s edition, the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) attracted 17,000 visitors and hosted 1,314 business negotiation sessions.  This year, according to IPIM, it attracted about 24,000 visitors, including nearly 5,600 professional visitors.  A total of 101 business matching sessions took place during the event.

However, the Times talked with some booth exhibitors who were not pleased with the attendance to the three-day event at The Venetian Macao. Some booths were already vacant yesterday afternoon, with some exhibitors preparing to pack their things.

Hong Kong-based Studio Fitness was among those that left the hall earlier. Its operations director, Jim Stephenson, said the platform was a good way to market the company  in Macau and in the mainland market.

However, compared to other expos in which they have participated over the last two months, Stephenson described the MFE as a “more quiet show.”

Despite the slow foot traffic of the event, Stephenson believed that the expo’s visitors were keener on franchising the brand.

“Compared to a few shows, it’s been a bit quieter. There’s not as much foot traffic but of the foot traffic, they’ve been more qualified,” he told the Times.

“They’re a bit more serious and not just here to grab flyers and run away. It’s [this show] more of quality, but not much quantity,” Stephenson added.

Aspect of the exhibition

He said a similar expo in Manila had been much busier, as they had engaged clients throughout the day. In the Macau exhibition, they saw “one almost every hour.”

“It’s quite a big difference, so we’ll probably focus our efforts more on other shows,” he said. “We would expect more people next time. If there aren’t more people in the next show, not sure if [we’ll] come again.”

The MFE promotes franchises and retail business collaborations through exhibitions, forums, business-matching sessions and promotional seminars.

International companies like Subway view the platform as a gateway to the Macau market.

Subway’s Field and Development Operations for Hong Kong and Macau, Michael Kyprianou, said the fast-food firm aims to open at least 10 stores in Macau, and that the expo is a regional platform to find new investors and franchising partners.

Questioned by the Times if the expo met their expectations in terms of foot traffic, Kyprianou said there were “a lot of leads which they can follow up on.”

He also revealed that there were businessmen from local casinos that are interested in the franchise.

Kyprianou stated that Subway had received several enquiries from the mainland market and had referred these to their mainland agency.

“We’ll be back. Macau’s an important market for Subway,” he said, when asked whether he would participate in the 2018 MFE.

For the final day of the MFE, a “Start-up Launchpad” event was held for successful businesspeople to share their experiences with the audience, providing a learning opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs or those looking to expand their business.

In a session titled “Road to Michelin Brand – Sharing by Lei’s Cuisine,” the managing director of Lei’s cuisine, Lei Kai Tsao shared the story behind the success of his Michelin-starred restaurant.

According to him, a number of restaurants in Macau started as family businesses and have struggled to keep up with today’s culinary trends.

Lei told the press that Macau’s food and beverage industry is continuously improving its quality and developing new offerings for its customers.

When asked how local restaurants are helping the government achieve its aim of becoming a UNESCO city for gastronomy, Lei noted that a number of operators are supporting the government’s goal by sending chefs overseas for training.

“We’re having training centers […] so we’ll try to have more trained chefs and will send chefs overseas [to gain] experience to contribute to Macau,” he said.

Another highlight was the “Gourmet Avenue”, which promoted local food and beverage products to help manufacturers expand their businesses abroad.

2017 GMBPF adds new exhibition and sales area

The Guangdong & Macau Brand Products Fair (GMBPF) was also held alongside the 2017 MFE, assembling products from Guangdong, Indonesia, Macau, and Myanmar. This year, the new Myanmar Products Exhibition & Sales Area has infused the event with more diverse elements, according to the organizers.

Some 135 enterprises from Guangdong province exhibited foodstuff, daily goods, household appliances, souvenirs and other products across 194 booths.

IPIM said some featured products from last year’s edition listed in categories such as “China Top Brand Products”, “China Well-known Trademark” and “Guangdong Top Brand Products”.

IPIM stated that some exhibitors said both sales and visitor numbers at the GMBPF surpassed expectations, and they expected final sales to soar yesterday.

A series of programs and games were held in Station Avenue, such as the “Sweet Carousel”, “Macaron Ferris Wheel” and the “Mystic Egg.”