The “Forum on Chain and Franchise Business Opportunities of International Brands” will be held on the opening day of the 2016 Macao Franchise Expo (2016MFE) – 29 July – in the Sicily Room of the Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel. The Forum aims to encourage local brands to “go global” and help small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) enhance their respective brand images and understand the new challenges brought about by the Internet regarding chain and franchise business.

The Forum is being held under the theme “New Horizons for Chain Operations and Franchising in the Internet Era”. The Forum organisers have invited experts and senior managers from international franchising associations from around the world to meet representatives of the local industry and young entrepreneurs. This is in order to expand the horizons for chain operations and franchising locally, in a bid to seize opportunities brought by the development of the initiative “Internet+”.

Experts to Share Experience on Market Trends Emerging in New Internet Era

The Forum is divided into two sessions. In the first session, representatives of leading associations within the industry will take part, including experts from Brazil, Mainland China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. The experts will share their experiences in market development trends emerging in the new Internet era in their respective markets.

During the second session, senior managers and experts from around the world will be invited to discuss the new challenges they have had to deal with and how to explore business opportunities under the O2O (Online-to-Offline) platform, a new type of operation model that has become popular in recent years. The Forum will introduce senior managers from several renowned enterprises, including a Hong Kong-based representative of VIPSHOP, a leading Chinese online discount retailer that is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and collaborates with more than 18,000 brands. Also attending the Forum will be: the founder of MORE Group, a Portugal-based company with several years of experience in chain operations and franchising, and assisting companies to transform their business; and the Chief Executive Officer of iFood Macau, a local O2O platform that partners with food and beverage brands and provides a one-stop franchising service to help promote the development of Macao’s culinary culture and e-commerce.

The Forum serves as a platform that allows international experts, industry representatives and participants – in particular, young entrepreneurs – to exchange opinions and share experiences on the direction and trends in development of the franchising and chain store business models. The aim is to expand the network for the industry and to inspire the Forum’s participants to even greater success.

The Forum will be conducted in Mandarin, Cantonese, Portuguese, English, Japanese and Korean, with a simultaneous translation service. All are welcome to participate (in particular young entrepreneurs and young business starters). For registration and enquiries, please contact us via, telephone: +853 8798 9127; or fax: +853 2872 8208; or email: ipimpcom@ipim.gov.mo.

For more information about the guest speakers and the Forum schedule, please visit the official website at: http://www.mfe.mo/