11th Edition of Franchise India 2013 Witnesses Largest Business and Entrepreneurship Networking

NEW DELHI, October 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

The 11th edition of Franchise India 2013, the largest franchise, retail and brand licensing show in the country, proved to be a platform that witnessed every possible franchise and business opportunity under one roof. Dimensions ranging from franchising, retail, distribution, international franchising, consumer services, manufacturing, real estate and licensing businesses were covered.

The show brought together over 150 speakers and over 1,000 delegates. The seminar also featured multiple CEO forums along with an exclusive session with the franchisee tycoons to address and elucidate their views on the challenges faced in the global franchisee industry, to identify the right opportunities and the best ways to tap them. The event saw participation of over 30,000 business investors from India and neighbouring countries including the Middle East, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

This year the show attracted about 40,000 business visitors and saw the launch of over 85 international brands and 100 domestic brands for the Indian market. The platform showcased over 500 business concepts, about 10 new industries, which also brought full time and part time entrepreneurship opportunities for both men and women.

H.P. Kumar, Chairman and Managing Director, NSIC, said, "Franchising in India is growing at a rate of 35% and there are more than 40000 franchisors at present. Total of 5000 crores has been invested to set up this franchising model. These figures in itself are enough to justify huge potential this industry has. Considering the huge potential ADB has approved loan of Rs. 750 crores to boost the industry which significantly contributes the GDP of our country.We at NSIC has set up an incubation centre where we don't incubate ideas but we incubate people. The motive of the centre is to encourage and nurture unemployed people to start their own business and become self employed."

Charles Piotto, President, LIMA Worldwide, said, "I feel excited to be a part of franchise India's event, second year in a row. Licensing is $190 billion huge industry which covers many segments. It has been 16 years that I have been associated with LIMA and has seen industry evolved and changed tremendously."

Mr. S P Parashar, Director, IIM, Indore, said "Before setting up a business, one should be aware of the worth and fair market value his business holds. Real magic is in scaling up the business by multiplying shops and hence franchise industry is the key to success and growth for any industry. This model helps to overcome additional capital constraints and provides operational guidance and support."

Mr. Gaurav Marya, Chairman, Franchise India, said, "Overall, this edition of Franchise India 2013 proved to be the definitive platform for networking between expert and potential franchise and licensing professionals to nurture dreams and build robust businesses. It was a space of incredible knowledge sharing, brand launches, licensing and business opportunities which witnessed attendance from some of the best and most highly regarded business professionals in the country and internationally."

The Entrepreneurship Summit was the biggest attraction of this event. The summit was a huge convergence of the best brains in entrepreneurship, innovation, venture capital, business model creation, consultancy and academic application. A variety of topics associated with entrepreneurship like economic trends, ease of setting up foreign businesses in India, policies that would benefit young entrepreneurs, high growth sectors etc were discussed.

Some of the most eminent speakers at the summit were Mr. Vijay Mishra, CEO, Birla Edutech, Mr. Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director, Bajaj Capital, Dr. Mukesh Batra, Founder - Chairman, Dr. Batra's, Mr. Ashutosh Garg, Managing Director, Guardian Lifecare, Mr. Abhishek Ganguly, Executive Director- Sales & Retail, South Asia, Puma, Mr. Sandeep Katiyar, Chief Executive Officer, Century 21, Mr. Naveen Raheja, Chairman & Managing Director, Raheja Developers, Mr. Rajesh Jain, CEO & Director, Lacoste India to name  a few.      

Franchise India 2013 also included two other strategic events: Brand Licensing India 2013 and The Franchise Master Class. While Brand Licensing acted as the space that collates knowledge, licensing opportunities and recognitions under one roof, the Franchise Master Class was a part of the Franchise Knowledge Series that aims to provide actionable insights to all stages of franchise systems including emerging, growing and mature franchisors.

Brand Licensing India 2013 sought to draw out a roadmap for licensing, as well as highlight the key trends in this space. This thought leadership session also reviewed ways of innovatively adopting this strategy by Indian businesses. Sessions were moderated by Mr. Charles Riotto, President, LIMA and threw light on a variety of areas like key growth opportunities for licensing, shrinking product categories, the evaluation process and the relevant elements for a licensing programme, entertainment licensing, corporate and celebrity licensing, sports licensing and the many laws associated with licensing in India. Those who shed light on these subjects included Ms. Michelle Minieri, President, Bradford Licensing, Mr. Akash Jain, Sr. Director Business, National Basketball Association, Mr. Mahesh Gupta, Chairman & Managing Director, Kent RO, Ms. Divya Pathak, Director - Marketing, Sony Pictures, Mr. Nitin Kalra, Director - SAARC Region, AI Licensing India, Mr. Jason Sutton, Director, Polaroid,Mr. Akash Jain, Sr. Director Business, National Basketball Association, Ms. Mayuri Pitale, Licensing Manager - India, World Wrestling Entertainment, Mr. Abhishek Malhotra, Advocate, TMT Law amongst others.

As a part of the Franchise Knowledge Series, Mr. Mike Adams, Managing Director, Franchise Asia Pacific, Sydney Area, Australia spoke on the building blocks of a strategic franchise business plan, the different stages of a franchisee's life and the different types of support needed during each stage. Other speakers like Mr. Santosh Srivastava, Managing Director, Gitanjali Jewels, Mr. Yatin Chaddha, VP Retail business, Mahindra 1st Choice, Mr. Kinjal Shah, Chief Operating Officer, Crossword Bookstores, Mr. Sudheesh Verma, Head - Retail & Franchise, Green Gold Licensing & Merchandising, Mr. Nikhil Sama, Founder and CEO, SnapLion and Prof P.K. Sinha, Professor in Retailing and Marketing, Chairperson, Centre for Retailing, IIM Ahmedabad elucidated the processes involved in building and sustaining a culture of accountability by financial satisfaction, best tools to audit franchisees financial performance scorecard, training in franchising and making multi-unit and multi-brand succeed by minimising brand overlap and maximising coverage.  

About Franchise India

Franchise India is Asia's largest integrated franchise solution company since 1999, with an absolute authority on franchising, licensing, retailing, real estate and marketing. The company has consulted several major brands over these years like Sbarro, Peter England, Barista, Booster Juice, Videocon, Perfect Wellness, Satya Paul, Bwitch, HCL, MGF, Quality Walls, Tata, Gitanjali, HSBC, Levis, JK Tyres, Lakme, D'damas, Adidas, Euro Kidz, The Apollo Clinic, Chhabra 555, Kidzee, Motilal Oswal, Rosebys, Next, Welhome and more, through media, advisory and exhibitions. With its strategically formed divisions, Franchise India has created its own niche as the pioneer of the franchise industry and a small business authority.

Primary Media Contact: Priyanka Sharma, [email protected], 91-9899653162