LOS ANGELES — Having just wrapped up one of their biggest international events in New York City, MFV Expositions and Comexposium are heading west for the annual Franchise Expo West trade show at the Los Angeles Convention Center Sept. 5-6.
The two-day event is the franchise industry’s largest trade show in the western U.S., with more than 100 exhibitors and over 2,000 potential franchisors expected to attend. “The numbers for Franchise Expo West in Los Angeles are looking good one month out,” Martin Joksimovic, President of MFV Expositions, said. “We’ve been getting a lot of positive feedback from our sponsor partnership requests with local chambers and entrepreneurial groups. I’d be surprised if we didn’t hit that mark.”
To date, MFV Expositions is currently on track to break its trade show attendance record for the third consecutive year. In part, that’s because the franchise industry has been fairly bulletproof as far as the current economic turbulence and uncertainty.
“From what we’ve seen, the franchise industry continues to be pretty resilient. As a whole, it is predicted to expand another 2.4% in 2025, which equates to an additional 20,000 establishments in the U.S.,” Joksimovic said.
“Many people aren’t aware that the total number of franchises in America is approximately 850,000, which means the one million mark is now within sight. The attendance numbers are up — way up — this year, especially the International Franchise Expo we just hosted in New York City. We’ve now swapped coasts and our expectations are high as we head to Los Angeles.”
Certain franchises are more susceptible to tariffs than others, especially those with complex supply chains in sectors like automotive and restaurants. “That only represents a small fraction of the total number of franchise brands out there,” Joksimovic said. “Other concept categories, such as professional services, health and wellness, and pet care, remain largely unaffected.
“This gets at the heart of one of the biggest myths in the franchising industry — that everything is fast food. The truth is that there are between 3,000 and 4,000 different concepts in the marketplace today.”
Franchise Expo West is MFV Expositions’ third of four domestic events in 2025; the organizer has already hosted trade shows in Charlotte and New York City. Franchise Expo Austin will take place Nov. 14-15. Two shows for next year are already on the books: Franchise Expo South in Fort Lauderdale Jan. 16-17 and the International Franchise Expo in New York City May 29-30.
Reach Martin Joksimovic at Martin.Joksimovic@comexposium.com or (201) 881-1658
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