| 30th August, 2025 |
| 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM |
Registration & Networking Breakfast
|
| 10:00 AM – 10:30 AM |
Opening Ceremony & Welcome Address
Session Highlights:
- Welcome note by Organizers
- Lamp Lighting & Opening Remarks
|
| 10:30 AM – 11:15 AM |
Inaugural Panel : The Future of Retail Franchising in India’s Consumer Economy
Session Highlights:
- Rise of the Aspiring Middle Class & Rise of Tier 2 & 3 Cities as Franchise Growth Hubs
- Franchise Models Enable Faster, Asset-Light Expansion
- Brand-Conscious Millennials & Gen Z Fuel Demand
- Sectoral Boom in Fashion, QSR, and Value Retail
|
| 11:15 AM – 12:00 PM |
Panel 2: India’s Franchise Growth Map: Scaling Franchise Models in smaller cities & Unlocking the
Next 1,000 Towns
Session Highlights:
- What drives successful franchise expansion in tier 2, 3 & 4 markets
- Challenges and solutions in logistics, talent, and consumer readiness.
- How government –led policies and incentives are empowering local franchising in smaller towns.
- Manage the volatile dynamics of an investment negotiation and how to balance the varied expectations
of all parties
- Role of real estate in site selection — malls vs high street in small-town India.
- Hyperlocalization: Customizing brand experiences for non-metro audiences.
|
| 12:00 PM – 12:20 PM |
Keynote: Designing for New India: Format Innovation & the Rise of the 10-Minute Store
Session Highlights:
- • Dark stores, Q-commerce & hybrid models
- • New retail formats: kiosks, carts, mobile stores
- • Adapting formats for low-rental micro markets
- • Convenience-driven retail in Tier 2/3 India
|
| 12:20 PM – 12:45 PM |
Networking Tea Break
|
| 12:45 PM – 1:30 PM |
Panel 3: From Local Legacy to Regional Powerhouse: How has a South Indian Brand Franchised Its Way
to Success
Session Highlights:
- How was the brand Built in the South, chose pure-play franchising & now growing Beyond Borders.
- Expanding beyond South India—navigating new geographies and consumer preferences
- Balancing operational control with franchisee empowerment
- The road ahead: Taking a regional success story to a national or global stage
|
| 1:30 PM – 2:45 PM |
Networking Lunch & Expo Visit
|
| 2:45 PM – 3:30 PM |
Panel 4: Multi-Unit Mastery: Driving Growth through Operational Scale
Session Highlights:
- Master Franchisees & Area Developers: The true engines behind rapid brand growth.
- Models that Scale: Unit vs. territory-based expansion—what works best and why.
- Growth Stories: Regional players growing from 5 to 50 stores through strong backend systems.
|
| 3:30 PM – 3:45 PM |
Keynote : Retail Redefined: Where India Shops in 2026
Session Highlights:
- Future of retail experiences
- Merging tech, trust, and touch in customer journeys
- Reimagining store roles in a digital-first economy
|
| 3:45 PM – 4:15 PM |
Panel 5 : Franchising in Food: From Dine-In to Delivery-First
Session Highlights:
- Scaling through multi-format kitchens (cloud, carts, kiosks, cafes)
- Regional food chains expanding across states
- Operational efficiency: Kitchen automation & delivery partnerships
- Menu engineering, profit margins & outlet-level P&L
- Franchisee profitability: Location planning & aggregator collaboration
|
| 4:15 PM – 5:00 PM |
Networking Session
Informal B2B meetups between franchisors, real estate heads, and franchise seekers
|
| 31st August, 2025 |
| 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM |
Welcome Coffee & Expo Floor walk
|
| 10:00 AM – 10:45 AM |
Panel 1: How Tech is Reshaping Franchise Operations in India
Session Highlights:
- Digitization of Operations: How cloud-based POS, ERP, and real-time dashboards are giving franchisors
better control and visibility across outlets.
- Smart Franchisee Onboarding: Use of digital training tools, virtual SOP simulations, and LMS platforms
to ensure faster, standardized onboarding.
- Data-Driven Decisions: Leveraging analytics for location planning, inventory forecasting, and
personalized customer engagement.
- Enhancing Customer Experience: Integrating CRM, loyalty apps, and AI-driven feedback tools for
seamless and consistent service.
- Supply Chain Efficiency: How tech is optimizing vendor management, cold chain logistics, and inventory
flow for franchised networks.
|
| 10:45 AM – 11:30 AM |
Panel 2: The Location Game: Choosing Between High Streets and Malls for Maximum ROI
Session Highlights:
- Choosing the Right Rental Model: Pros and Cons of Revenue-Share vs. Fixed Lease
- Footfall vs. Sales: Understanding conversion rates across mall and high street formats
- Evaluating rental models: revenue share vs. fixed lease structures
- Analyzing footfall-to-sales conversion across retail formats
- Strategic real estate partnerships and effective lease negotiations
|
| 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM |
Tea Break
|
| 12:00 PM – 12:45 PM |
Panel 3: The Franchise Backbone: People, SOPs & Performance
Session Highlights:
- Hiring the Right People:
Tips on how to find and hire employees who are the right fit for franchise stores in different
locations.
- Training for Consistency:
How leading brands onboard and upskill franchise staff to deliver a uniform customer experience.
- SOPs That Scale:
Creating and implementing standard operating procedures that are easy to replicate and enforce across
franchise units.
- Performance Management:
Aligning team KPIs with brand standards to ensure operational excellence at every outlet.
- People + Process Integration:
How to ensure that your human capital and process systems work together for seamless franchise growth.
|
| 12:45 PM – 1:30 PM |
Beauty, Wellness & Fitness- Scaling the Feel-Good Economy with Franchising
Session Highlights:
- The rise of salons, skincare chains, fitness studios, and wellness clinics as mainstream franchise
categories.
- Franchise vs. licensing models: Choosing the right pathway for expansion in beauty and wellness
services.
- How tier 2/3 markets are responding to premium self-care and preventive health formats.
- The power of product + service bundling in building customer loyalty and increasing AOV (average
order value).
- Leveraging celebrity branding, influencer marketing, and tech platforms to scale visibility and
bookings.
- Navigating training, SOPs, and standardization in people-led service businesses.
- The evolving role of wellness retail (nutraceuticals, ayurvedic products, fitness supplements) in
franchise networks.
|
| 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM |
Lunch & Deal-Making Tables
|
| 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM |
FREX Recognition Hour
Awards for:
- Emerging Retail Franchise of the Year
- Innovative Business Format
- Most Promising Franchise Leader
|
| 4:00 PM – 4:15 PM |
Closing Remarks & Outlook 2026
|
