27 & 28 November 2026 · Olympic Tae Kwon Do Arena, Faliro, Athens, Greece
Co-organised by Verticom & Boussias

Dear Madam/Sir,

The Franchise Summit & Expo is back, and this year it carries more weight: the event is co-organised by Verticom and the Boussias group, the leading B2B communications group in Greece. In practice that means a larger conference programme, stronger promotion and a better audience in the room.

I am writing to you again because the event has moved a long way forward — sponsors, exhibitors and the conference programme are progressing fast. I wanted you to know while good sponsorship and stand positions are still available.

What makes this year matter is a paradox. Retail is under pressure — according to the Athens Chamber of Tradesmen, 41% of businesses reported lower sales in the first four months of 2026. And yet franchise networks are accelerating.

›  115 chains responded to the Franchise Leaders Survey 2025–2026
›  86.54% of their outlets run on a franchise model
›  2.83 new outlets opened per chain on average in 2025
›  3.13 is the target for 2026

Sources: Franchise Leaders Survey 2025–2026 · Athens Chamber of Tradesmen

Simple arithmetic: these 115 chains alone are planning roughly 360 new outlets during 2026. The market says the same — Metro is committing €250–280 million for 2026–2029 with 150 new stores, most of them franchised. Behind every one of them is a prospective franchisee with capital, choosing a system right now.

Those people are the audience of this event. Two days, one venue:

›  40+ speakers  ·  50 exhibitors  ·  500 delegates  ·  1,500 visitors
›  Food service, retail, services, education
›  Prospective franchisees, investors, chain executives

The sponsors already backing the event:

See the sponsors at franchisesummit.gr

And something that changes the maths: the B2B meetings.

At franchise exhibitions the most expensive thing is not the stand — it is wasted time. You stand for two days waiting to see who walks past, you talk to dozens of passers-by, and you end up with three serious contacts you found by chance.

This year there is an alternative. Through the event platform, exhibitors and visitors can book meetings before the exhibition opens, at a set time. You do not wait to see who walks past — you arrive having already agreed who you will talk to.

In practice, the stand stops being your only hope. It works alongside, while the serious conversations happen in meetings booked with a name and a time. For a chain looking for franchisees, that is where it is decided whether the exhibition merely “went well” or whether it produced signatures.

And the campaign that brings the audience in.

An exhibition does not fill itself. From September we are running a coordinated promotion campaign: targeted email to our own databases, tens of thousands of professionals in retail, food service and services; exposure through the Boussias group’s media, which speaks directly to the sector’s executives; and digital advertising on Google and Meta, targeted at people actively looking for a business opportunity.

And we do not stop at digital. We are preparing a media plan with the agency Tempo, with systematic radio and television exposure roughly 15 days before the event opens — which is when attendance is decided.

As a sponsor, your brand travels with that campaign. It is seen even by those who will not make it to the venue — the exposure starts months before 27 November and does not stop at the exhibition door.

As a sponsor or exhibitor you do not simply get visibility. You get access to people who came in order to invest — at the moment they are comparing systems, not later.

I am attaching the sponsorship pack with the packages and stand options.

You will also find attached the floor plan as it stands today, showing the companies that have already reserved their space. It lets you see at a glance what is still free and where.

Would a short 10-minute call this week make sense, to look at which position fits your company? Send me two or three days and times that suit you and I will call you.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,

Co-organised by Verticom & Boussias · 23 Evmolpidon St., 118 54 Athens, Greece · +30 210 924 5577 · info@verticom.gr · franchisesummit.gr

You are receiving this email because your company works with, or has worked with, Verticom. If you would rather not receive messages like this, you can unsubscribe here.