INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Franchisers Go Abroad: Another growth area in the international arena is franchising.

Robin Day Glenn, a Newport Beach attorney specializing in franchising, said a glut of franchises in North America is prompting this growth.

“A number of small- and medium-size franchisers in the United States can’t grow here because the market is saturated with franchises, and they see expanding abroad as the only growth potential,” she said.

The trend is for small- and medium-size franchisers to expand south, often in Mexico, where the government has eased laws on foreign investments and technology transfer.

According to Michael Liikala, director of the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Export Administration office in Newport Beach, Orange County companies continue to thrive in the export market despite higher fuel prices resulting from the Middle East crisis.