US eBay trading centre franchise Auction it TODAY has granted an international franchise to Kuwait City businessman Barrak Alfadhel. The move marks the start of an international expansion programme which will see the company establish further stores in Australia, New Zealand, Germany, the UK and Canada.

Alfadhel has invested in the franchise with two partners - brother Ahmad Alfadhel and Ali Alanda. "Kuwait is a small country of 2 million people," he says. "If you want to sell something you had, there are limited channels for you to do that. While garage sales are popular in America, they just don't occur in Kuwait."

Auction it TODAY has 114 franchised stores across the US, and last year, in its second year of operation, reported a turnover of US$15 million.