HONG KONG, Dec. 13 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Global Sources’ (Nasdaq: GSOL) 10th Annual Franchising China Conference & Exhibition ( http://www.franchisechina.com ) wrapped up its tour of China recently, attracting 24,274 potential franchisees to its exhibitions in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing -- up 12 percent from 2006.
(Logo: http://www.prnasia.com/sa/200708071747.jpg )
One exhibitor, Ines Vedovelli, president of Gustomenta, a Beijing-based Italian gelato franchisor, said: "The visitors are really interested in franchising. They’re not just coming to gather information. We went to a franchising show two weeks ago and it was a completely different situation. This show is much better."
Around 100 international and local franchisors exhibited at Franchising China, offering business opportunities in retail, education, hotels, laundry services, food & beverage, beauty & health, automotive, business services and furniture/home products.
Hotel franchisors were notably popular at this year’s event, thanks to the growing demand in China for affordable business and leisure accommodations. Five key players exhibited at the show, including international brands Super 8 and Holiday Inn Express, and domestic brands Greentree Inns, Home Inn and JinJiang Inn.
Jin Zhibo, General Manager of Greentree Inns, said: "We’ve gotten a lot of benefit from this show -- not just in terms of meeting customers -- but also in building awareness for our brand. As an exhibitor for the last six years, I can say that the quality of brands exhibiting at this year’s show was very high."
Other well-known exhibitors at the show included international franchisors Subway, Baja Fresh, Gloria Jean’s Coffee, Bread Talk, Bob Jane T-Marts, Athlete’s Foot, Office 1 and Meyer Cookware, and leading China brands Vanke, Iceason (Bright Food Group), ILSA Laundry, DIO Coffee and Tayohya.
The Franchising China Conference & Exhibition is scheduled to host its 11th annual show in November 2008, with many exhibitors have already re-booked booth space for the event.
Further reports about the show are scheduled to be released on the Franchising China website at http://www.franchisechina.com . Franchisors interested in exhibiting at the 2008 event should contact jge@globalsources.com.
About Franchising China
Organized by Global Sources (Nasdaq: GSOL) and sponsored by Chief Executive China ( http://www.ceconline.com ), Franchising China has been a pioneer in introducing international franchise exhibitions to China since 1998. Today, it is the country’s premier multinational franchise event and a prime location for famous brands seeking business partners. As a result, the event has earned the repeated support of international associations such as the International Franchise Association (IFA), the Franchising and Licensing Association of Singapore (FLA) and the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade). Furthermore, the Shanghai show has received the US Department of Commerce’s trade fair certification.
Franchising China exhibitors come from the US, Australia, Italy, Switzerland, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Hong Kong and other regions, representing industries such as retail, food, education, training, business services and more. Past exhibitors include KFC, Subway, Athlete’s Foot and other well-known brands.
About Global Sources
Global Sources is a leading business-to-business (B2B) media company and a primary facilitator of two-way trade with Greater China. The core business is facilitating trade from Greater China to the world, using a wide range of English-language media. The other key business segment facilitates trade from the world to Greater China using Chinese-language media.
The company provides sourcing information to volume buyers and integrated marketing services to suppliers. It helps a community of over 647,000 active buyers source more profitably from complex overseas supply markets. With the goal of providing the most effective ways possible to advertise, market and sell, Global Sources enables suppliers to sell to hard-to-reach buyers in over 230 countries.
The company offers the most extensive range of media and export marketing services in the industries it serves. It delivers information on 2 million products and more than 160,000 suppliers annually through 14 online marketplaces, 13 monthly magazines, over 100 sourcing research reports and nine specialized trade shows which run 22 times a year across seven cities.
Suppliers receive more than 23 million sales leads annually from buyers through Global Sources Online ( http://www.globalsources.com ) alone.
Global Sources has been facilitating global trade for 36 years. In mainland China it has over 2,000 team members in 44 locations, and a community of over 1 million registered online users and magazine readers for
Chinese-language media.
Global Sources Press Contact in Asia:
Camellia So
Tel: +852-2555-5021
Email: cso@globalsources.com
Global Sources Investor Contact in Asia:
Eddie Heng
Tel: +65-6547-2850
Email: eheng@globalsources.com
Global Sources Press Contact in U.S.:
James W.W. Strachan
Tel: +1-480-664-8309
Email: strachan@globalsources.com
Global Sources Investor Contact in U.S.:
Moriah Shilton & Christiane Pelz
Lippert/Heilshorn & Associates, Inc.
Tel: +1-415-433-3777
Email: cpelz@lhai.com
