Business & Money | Thursday 8 February, 2018 5:11 am |

The British companies appeared at the top of their enthusiasm as they compete with Arabian companies to invade the Saudi trademark market. This happened during the launching of the “Saudi International Exhibition for Franchise”, which was inaugurated by Eng. Ahmed bin Sulaiman Al Rajhi, President of the Riyadh Chamber on Monday, at the Riyadh International Conventions and Exhibitions center.

The exhibition showcases more than 120 exhibitors from nine different countries, it witnesses a large participation by young people and entrepreneurs who are preparing to attend some of the 18 workshops that will be conducted during the exhibition. The workshops aims to change the thinking and raise the awareness for the concept of building brands in the Arab world.

Al Rajhi toured the various pavilions of the exhibition alongside the Chairman of the Organizing Committee Haya Al-Senidi with other businessmen and entrepreneurs. Ahmed Al-Refae’e, the Executive Director of the exhibition, gave a detailed explanation for the participating countries and the many activities that appear for the first time at the Riyadh exhibition.

The attendees praised the participating Saudi companies, emphasizing its great ability to invade the Gulf, Arab and international markets, taking care of quality and offering competitive prices, while an interactive dialogue took place between exhibition officials and entrepreneurs and companies which offer franchise rights.

A number of British companies have emerged to get their share from the Saudi franchise market, offered its services to small local companies and entrepreneurs to get famous brands in restaurants, hospitality and services, they emerged as a strong competitor with the participating pavilions from Malaysia, Egypt, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Sudan, the British companies revealed its great determination to export its brands to the world, after the great success achieved at home and a number of gulf countries.

The exhibition is packed with a wide variety of workshops, seminars and lectures that start at 4:30 pm and continue until 10:30 pm, from Feb. 5-7.

The first workshop is entitled "Franchise Sector in Saudi Arabia, Reality and Hope" headed by Dr. Mohammed Dulaim Al Qahtani, the global expert in commercial excellence, the workshop will discuss the obstacles facing the Saudi franchise sector and challenges in the face of consultancy and the legal environment of the sector also a study on why foreign franchises outweigh the local. The workshop will be attended by Dr. Khalid Amin Yousef, President of the Saudi Association of Franchise alongside Dr. Ali al-Maliki, an investor in the sector, Dr. Youssef Al-Refae’e, academic and investor in the sector, and engineer Mohammed Tabshi, the owner of a franchise consultancy office.

The participants in the major Saudi international event are seeking to change the thinking and raise awareness for the concept of building brands in the Arab world, through a workshop for entrepreneurs, business owners, marketing and sales professionals, entitled "Assimilation and Branding" by Ziad Urgenji, Brand Strategy Advisor.

While another workshop will be held by lawyer Sharif Akkad about the method of formulating a contract in franchise entitled “Study and practical cases of the most important conditions at the contract " also the financial and economic advisor Abdulelah al-Sa’ab provides a lecture on the principles of accounting and financial management for small enterprises.

"I want a Franchise" workshop, hosted by Karim El Ghazal, founder of Master franchises, is one of the most important and attractive workshops for entrepreneurs on the show's calendar. It talks about the methods of reading the market and its needs, the cost of Franchise, the direction of the right investment and ways to achieve success.

Attention is also drawn to the "Feasibility Study" workshop presented by Abdullah Al Assaf, Financial Advisor and Certified Economist. The workshop shows entrepreneurs and young People how the feasibility study works, using the right analysis, market expectations, operational plan, human resource composition and financial plan for any new project.

Marwan Abdel Razek, a member of the Board of Directors of Delini Business Center, offers realistic solutions on how to market your business franchise.

On the sidelines of the event, investors and franchise owners gather in one place, through the "Tawafoq" platform to sign trademark deals, where more than 20 companies expressed their willingness to sign deals and agreements with brands that have become famous during the days of the Riyadh exhibition.