Dubai: Fastsigns International, a US-based sign and visual communications franchiser, plans to expand further in the UAE to reap the benefits of the country’s growing meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions [Mice] industry, according to the company’s top executive.
“We see those expos and trade conferences being a significant driver of growth and revenue…,” Catherine Monson, chief executive of Fastsigns, said. The Dubai World Trade Centre welcomed 2.45 million visitors in 2014, up 10 per cent over the previous year, according to data from the Dubai World Trade Centre Authority.
The company recently opened its first centre in Dubai on Shaikh Zayed Road, offering products such as trade show and window graphics.
“We expect that our location [spot] in the UAE [industry] will exceed the average revenue of our individual Fastsigns because of the strength and growth of the UAE economy,” Monson said.
By 2020, 11 more Fastsigns centres are expected to open in the UAE.
“The next location will probably open before the end of the year in Abu Dhabi. Then we will have additional [centres] in Dubai and other locations in the UAE,” Monson said.
The investment for the expansion is Dh45 million, said Hamdi Osman, Fastsigns’ master franchisee in the region.
Some of the new UAE centres will be owned by Osman and the rest will be sub-franchised, according to Monson.
She expects the Middle East to contribute around 5 per cent of the company’s total revenue by 2020.
Fastsigns also plans to open 25 centres in North Africa over next five to seven years. It aims to enter India and Southeast Asia as well, Monson said.
“We are in negotiations with three different parties in India for regional developments. We are about to sign a contract to develop Singapore, and we are actively looking in Malaysia and other parts of Southeast Asia,” she said.
Monson expects the company’s global revenue to grow by more than 15 per cent in the current year, from more than $400 million (Dh1.4 billion) in 2014 as it plans to open more than 50 new locations worldwide. It aims to grow the number of its centres worldwide from the current 579 to around 700 in the next five years.
