MIRF 2022 – Rebooting Retail Franchise

Organised by MRCA since 1992, MIRF made a grand comeback a er the pandemic, creating waves in the franchise industry and presenting an exceptional array of franchise opportunities, comprising both local and international brands.

IRF hit the Malaysian M franchise scene with a grand entrance from 14 to 16 July 2022 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. Occupying Halls 3 to 5, the event which is the largest Malaysian franchise exhibition welcomed both local and international businesses from across 15 countries. Themed “REBOOT: Retail and Franchise”, the exhibition featured over 400 booths and kiosks including more than 200 renowned and upcoming brands. Exhibitors hailed from South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, India, Pakistan, Japan, Cyprus and the Philippines, among others.

The prestigious exhibition drew thousands of visitors interested in

franchising opportunities. As the government consistently promotes and supports franchise businesses, this event serves as an excellent springboard to market franchise businesses across Asia. Malaysia has more than 500 franchise brands in the country of which 70% are local brands spanning various sectors such as food and beverage, retailing, education, as well as beauty and health, among others.

Focusing on building the franchise market in Malaysia, the government has laid ambitious targets for the franchise industry to contribute 9.4% to the country’s gross domestic product by 2022, as well as making Malaysia a franchise hub in ASEAN. With MIRF drawing both local and regional franchise players to the forefront, the event has proven to be a growth platform for retail and franchise businesses to expand in terms of revenue, as well as to reshape and recultivate new business models. Additionally, the event was an inspiring avenue to deliver innovation strategies to counter the impact of the pandemic on the economy and society.

In the opening speech of Tan Sri Noh bin Haji Omar, Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperative (MEDAC), which was read by Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Ministry (KUSKOP) Deputy Secretary General (Entrepreneurship Development), Datuk Zamri Salleh, it was noted that

the optimism is driven by Malaysia’s sustained recovery in the retail industry since the end of last year, with a good growth rate of 18.3% in retail sales for the rst quarter of 2022.

According to the Malaysian Retail Industry Report, retail sales is projected to grow 25.7% in the second quarter, on the back of 5% gross domestic product (GDP) growth recorded in the rst quarter of 2022.

Tan Sri Noh’s speech read, “I am aware that MIRF saw transactions worth more than RM80 million and attracted over 15,000 visitors during the previous (fourth) edition held in 2019, prior to the pandemic. I believe we will be able to increase the revenue gure to more than RM90 million this year, while bene tting even more visitors this year.”

He added that Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Ministry (KUSKOP), via its agency Pernas, is targeting to create 18,000 new jobs in the franchise industry by 2025, as part of its strong commitment towards developing more entrepreneurs, especially in the franchise arena.

MRCA president Sharan Valiram said the association is committed to making Malaysia a springboard for retailers and franchise businesses to grow, where brands, organisations and industry practitioners gather in one place to network and transact businesses in real-time.

“There are positive indications that the nal sales gure this year would reach RM13 billion, judging from the inherent strength of this industry despite the pandemic. Once again, the statistics have proven the vital contribution the retail industry brings to the Malaysian economy. It is one of three top contributors to the national GDP,” he shared.

In expressing her thoughts about the event and crediting the industry’s historic milestone in emerging from the pandemic, MIRF organising chairperson, Christine Tan said, “We trust that MIRF is more than capable to create and facilitate business opportunities not only for the retail sector but also provide a platform where the business community congregate for serious and vast opportunities.”

The event has enjoyed consistent support from its valued sponsors namely Maxis, Fusionex and RHB Banking Group. This year, MIRF proudly welcomes new sponsors onboard namely PERNAS as Gold Sponsor, Pudu Robotics and Z City as Silver Sponsor, as well as Shopline and Time.com as Bronze Sponsors. MIRF is also supported by Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE).