October 8 was the date of the Franchising International Congress at ABF Franchising Week Digital. During the event, the 2nd International Franchise Certificate was conferred to 52 Brazilian chains, the 14 finalists in the 1st International Highlight Award by Franchising Brasil were celebrated, and the 4 winning brands were announced.
The winners, Coife Odonto, Chilli Beans, Maple Bear and Hot N’ Tender, presented their respective cases, for which they won the Award. Bibi Calçados’ case was another international case presented in the opening of Congress that may serve as an example for other Brazilian chains.
“International expansion is a crucial strategy for Brazilian chains, and it’s even more important now, because of the crisis resulting from the novel coronavirus pandemic. Fortunately, the number of brands operating in foreign markets has been growing year after year. The International Franchise Certificate and the Internationalization Highlight Award are ways we found to recognize the good job such chains have been doing abroad and to encourage other brands to follow their steps and start operating internationally”, stated André Friedheim, president of ABF.
Sérgio Segovia, president of Apex-Brasil, stated that the agency “has a solid institutional relationship with ABF by means of sector project Franchising Brasil. The 15-year partnership promotes actions destined for the internationalization of the segment, and it has been achieving extremely positive results. There was a 12% increase in the number of chains operating abroad in 2019, in comparison with the previous year. Despite the adverse and complex scenario resulting from the current health and economic situation, we have been noticing an increasing participation of franchise brands in the actions promoted by the project. Initiatives like the International Franchise Certificate and the Internationalization Highlight Award are crucial for us to acknowledge and recognize the constant efforts such franchises have been made to overcome all kinds of challenges during their international trajectories, always supported by Apex-Brasil and ABF”.
The contextualization of the expansion process of Brazilian chains abroad was presented by Jae Ho Lee, international director of ABF. “The internationalization process is becoming almost natural in Brazilian chains, and operating abroad is a challenge that dozens of companies are overcoming. ABF and Apex-Brasil, by means of the Franchising Brasil program, make all efforts to increase the number of national brands worldwide. It requires planning, long-term view, ability to adapt to new cultures and local policies and search for local partners, among other things, and ABF and Apex have been promoting a series of initiatives so that the chains that are members of the project can succeed overseas”, he said.
Lee pointed out that, during the ABF Franchising Week Digital, the “Projeto Comprador Virtual” (Virtual Buyer Project) was carried out, consisting of another promotion and international expansion opportunity for the brands that are members of Franchising Brasil.
The Congress had the participation of David Bloom, development and operations director of Capriotti’s, and ended with an exclusive panel about franchising worldwide. The panel was composed of David Barr, chairman of IFA and multi-franchisee of KFC, Taco Bell, Spice & Tea Exchange and Capriotti’s, and James Walker, from Nathan’s Famous, and it was mediated by Marcelo Cherto, CEO of Grupo Cherto.
Barr talked about franchise trends, and Walker said entrepreneurs must search for business opportunities during the Covid-19 pandemic. His chain, for example, started operating in the United Arab Emirates and in Ireland during such period.
About Franchising Brasil
Franchising Brasil is a sector project carried out by means of a partnership between the Brazilian Association of Franchising (ABF) and the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil) for the internationalization of Brazilian franchise brands and promotion of their businesses abroad. The initiative was developed to promote this business model that is well recognized in the main international markets.
READ MORE: ABF and Franchising Brasil announce the four winners of the International Highlight Award