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THE 8th FRANQUIATLÁNTICO TRADE FAIR HAS BECOME CONSOLIDATED AS THE FRANCHISE FAIR IN THE NORTH OF SPAIN
More than 14,000 people visited the fair that closed with great business expectations The 8th FranquiAtlántico Trade Fair, a fair aimed at the world of the franchise and business opportunities, unique in Spain because of its trans-frontier location with Portugal was held in the city of Vigo from 12st to 14rd January 2007. As a trade fair, the event, organised by Gálata, year by year consolidates Galicia, Asturias, Castile and León and Northern Portugal as an attractive market for the firms that participating in the fair and for the potential clients and entrepreneurs. The trans-frontier nature of the fair was felt in the affluence of visitors from the neighbouring country, a third of the total attending (more than 14,000 visitors), from places in the northern area of Portugal such as Braga, Oporto, Valença do Minho and Viana do Castelo, among others, who showed great interest in various franchises at the fair. The eighth edition of the fair ended with an important participation of exhibitors, among these were the main consulting firms at international and national level with a clear tendency for the development of the franchise to rise in the North West area of the Peninsula. A total of 125 exhibitors from Spain and Portugal were present at this new edition that for the first time was able to count on the presence of prestigious emblems such as Algrano, Accesit Formación Y Selección, Tiendas Conmasarte, Carlos de Miguel, Vinoteca Barbechera, Four Winds, Jean Louis David, La Tagliatella, 18th October, Mediabank, Primera Agencia Inmobiliaria, Rústicas del Noroeste, etc. Likewise, as is becoming habitual in all its editions, FranquiAtlántico 2007 had a training offer through the Foro de la Franquicia & el Salón Emprendedor that was held under the technical direction of the Spanish Association of Franchisers (AEF). These discussion forums were able to count on the presence of important national and international specialists in the matter who covered up-to-date subjects in the sector by means of round tables and presentations. The 5th Edition of the Salón del Emprendedor was held in parallel with FranquiAtlántico. Likewise, at this new edition of the trade fair the 3rd Award of Prizes to Entrepreneurial Initiative was announced. This third announcement, whose period for registration ends on 31st May, has the sponsorship of the ICO, the Department for Social Issues and Work Relations of the Xunta of Galicia and the Department for Promotion and Employment of the Council of Vigo. Raquel Robledo, Manager of both trade fairs, highlighted the fact that "the franchise sector is becoming increasingly consolidated in this country and is maturing, which is shown in the increase of the number of establishments together with their turnover. The influence of visitors to FranquiAtlántico and their motivation is another of the factors that ratifies this upward trend. Likewise, Raquel Robledo emphasized the growth of the franchise sector in the community of Galicia "which in the past few years has experienced a great increase with regard to the number of establishments. In fact, the latest reports for 2006 place Galicia in fifth place in the Spanish rankings, with a total of 2,719 franchise establishments in the community of Galicia that generate almost 12,000 direct jobs and reached a turnover of nearly 800 million euros in this community in 2006". For his part, the manager of the Spanish Association of Franchisers, Eduardo Abadía, valued the good moment of the sector at present very positively. With regard to this, he said "this system is starting to bear fruit and to show the first signs of maturity. On the one hand, chains already established have increased their number of establishments and billing levels, while starting to expand in international markets, so that Spanish franchises have a considerable presence now externally". Likewise, Abadía highlighted the role of the Arbitration system set up by the AFE about which he said that it "exercises an important role in the differences and conflicts that are starting to appear in the sector as a consequence of its maturity". The organisers of the event are preparing the 9th Edition of FranquiAtlántico that will be held from 7th to 9th March 2008. |
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