Snap Fitness set its footprint in Mumbai

Snap Fitness, a US based fitness chain launches its first fitness centre in Malad, Mumbai through franchising. The company entered India with its first gym in 2008 in Bengaluru. Presently, the company supports 20 + franchised gyms in India.  

The gym that has opened in Malad is a 4, 000 sq. ft facility, will offer 24 hour fitness services. The company also has plans to open more fitness centres in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi, and other major cities across India. The company is targeting at more than 30 gyms by the next fiscal year. All these gyms will be opened through franchise route.  

The company was established in 2004 in Minneapolis, USA. It is the fastest growing fitness chain across the globe with its presence in countries like Canada, Australia, India, and Mexico. The company also plans to set its trail in New Zealand and the UK.

 

Source: Franchise-India

Educomp to open 75 IIT Coaching Centres

The diversified education provider, Educomp Solutions Ltd plans to set up about 75 Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) coaching centres pan India, by 2011. The company has announced the launch of India's first VSAT based Engineering Prep Programme. This programme will be delivered through an India-wide chain of centres called Leap. For students staying in remote towns and semi-urban centres, Educomp Leap will provide accessibility to the faculties spread over across India. These 75 centres will be both company owned and franchised outlets.

Last year, over four lakh students appeared in IIT-JEE and over 12 lakh appeared for AIEEE. While 80 per cent of these students take some form of coaching, a mere 20 per cent of them have access to the top 10 coaching institutes of the country. The rest have to be content with sub-standard coaching due to a variety of reasons, ranging from geographical constraints, cost implications and non-availability of high quality faculty.

Through effective use of VSAT technology, the LEAP centres will deliver standardised, high quality, and cost effective test prep. Keeping in mind the spend patterns in Tier II and III towns, Leap will offer test prep at a fraction of the cost to other centres.

Students at Leap centres will be taught by highly acclaimed and well known faculty. They will have access to high quality study material and a vast library of subject-related, digital teaching resources, and most importantly, video archives.

Shantanu Prakash, CEO, and MD, Educomp Solutions Ltd informed, "We are consolidating our presence in the supplemental education space, which is currently among the fastest growing segment, with an estimated market size of 8 billion USD in India alone. We have undertaken restructuring of our businesses recently and have created a new entity called 'Educomp Supplemental' for our supplemental education business which includes off-school services such as tutoring, counseling, and assessment. Post-restructuring, it will be India's largest supplemental education company".

He added, "Educomp Leap is yet another initiative which is in line with our mission of being a transformative learning enabler through innovative technology-led initiatives".

Educomp will open around 75 Leap centres in the current financial year, located across cities like Guwahati, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Varanasi, Allahabad, Meerut, Patna, Surat, Jammu, Patiala, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Agra, Gurgaon, Sonipat, and Ludhiana among others. By 2012 Leap centres will be present in around 200 cities across India. While this year the focus will be on the engineering test prep, plans to roll out other test prep products like Medicine and BBA from 2011-12 are also in the list.

 

Source: Franchise-India

Timex plans 20 stores in one year; seeks franchisees

Leading watch maker Timex Group India has announced plans to open 20 more stores across the country in the next one year. The group which has embraced the franchising model for expansion, currently has 70 stores in India, in both kiosks and exclusive outlets formats. 

The new stores will be opened through the franchise model. Besides metros and big cities, the group is now looking to increase its footprints in tier II and III cities like Guntur, Kakinada, Asansol, Hazaribagh, etc., with a population of more than one million. The other cities targeted by the group are the Delhi-NCR region, Pune, Hyderabad, Ludhiana, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai and the like. 

Speaking at the launch of their 10th exclusive outlet in Bangalore, Gopalratnam Kannan, managing director, Timex Group, said: "We have extensive expansion plans for the coming year and will be increasing our footprints across the country, especially in tier II and III cities. We are also strategically expanding our product portfolio targeting the discerning Indian consumer." 

The company operates two franchise models -- kiosks and exclusive outlet (The Time Factory) formats. The space required for a Timex kiosk is 120 sq. ft with an overall investment of Rs 10-15 lakhs. While The Time Factory is spread over an area of 450-650 sq ft and requires investment of about Rs 20 lakhs, depending on the location. The franchisee can breakeven in a year's time expecting an RoI of 15-20 per cent. 

Timex Group designs, manufactures and markets innovative timepieces and jewellery globally with 12 brands in its portfolio including Versace, Nautica, Marc, and Ecko. 

Currently, the overall watch industry is expected to be Rs 3,500 crore of which 55 per cent comprises the organised market. Timex Group has a market share of 10 per cent of organised market. 

Timex Group reported a turnover of about Rs 132 crore in 2008-2009 fiscal with a profit of over Rs 7.56 crore. The profit was almost 37 per cent more than the previous year. Despite the recession, revenues in 2009-2010 grew at 3 per cent. The brand is now expecting a growth of 10 per cent in 2010-2011. 

 

Source: Franchise-Plus

McDonalds earmarks Rs 60 crore investment for marketing

McDonalds has announced the launch of new campaign for its happy price menu which starts with Rs 20 onwards. Termed as 'Har Chotti Khushi Ka Celebration', the campaign is design to position McDonald's as the ideal venue and platform for individuals to celebrate their little joys of life. 

"For us, it's not just a campaign line but the way of making our consumer's life more enriching - and McDonald's provides consumers a chance to celebrate 'har choti khushi' by offering dual benefit of quick service and affordable pricing. In today's hectic pace of life, 'har choti khushi ka celebration' needs to be a mantra for a fulfilling life," said Arvind Singhal, director marketing, McDonald's India (west and south). 

"We also have plans to launch a campaign for our meals such as McVeggi and McChicken this year. We also plan to open 40 more McDonald outlets this year. To market our new products and initiatives for consumers we look forward to spend across Rs 50-60 crore in 2010," Singhal added. 

Source: Franchise-Plus

M&B Footwear seeks franchisees for expansion

M&B Footwear, footwear retail chain, will expand its retail presence via the franchise route in metros, mini metros as well as smaller cities and towns. 

Some of the outlets will be operational before the end of the first quarter of the approaching financial year 2010-11. Most of the franchised stores will be in North, notably Punjab and adjoining belt, and East in the first phase, according to a report published in IndiaRetailing. 

"The franchisee route is being perceived as futuristic as it would ensure expansion plan. Our distinctive footwear brand portfolio, consumer insights and preferences and importantly, revenue and profit imperatives for the franchisees will secure a win-win scenario for both," quoted Vikas Bagga, VP, marketing and corporate affairs, M&B Footwear Pvt Ltd in the report. 

"The endeavour is to set up moderate to mid-sized Walk-in M&B stores, spread over 500-1,000 sq ft of carpet area, in premium malls and high street locations. Importantly, the property lease for nine years would have to be directly secured by the franchisee else the franchisee could offer and operate out of their wholly-owned premises," Bagga added. 

Within the approaching new fiscal, M&B plans to set up 15-20 Walk-in M&B outlets. The franchisee will have to invest close to Rs 10-15 lakh on fixtures and fittings and Rs 20-25 lakh in stock inventory, the report added. 

Currently, it has 41 exclusive concept stores, located in premium malls and high streets, 97 shop-in-shop with large format stores such as Westside, Pantaloons, Shoppers Stop and Central and 62 factory direct showrooms in India. 

 

Source: Franchise-Plus

Taco Bell ventures India

US-based fast food brands operator Yum! Restaurants launched its Mexican speciality chain Taco Bell in India with the first restaurant in Bangalore and said it plans to open up 100 outlets by 2015.

 Yum! Restaurants, which operates brands like Pizza Hut and KFC, said it is looking to tap the young consumer segment with Taco Bell's Mexican offerings as part of effort to increase footprints in the estimated USD one billion dollar Indian fast food market.

"We are confident that Taco Bell will redefine the eating-out market in India with its value proposition and variety of delicacies. We have already signed up a few more properties in Bangalore and our aim is to have 100 outlets in India by 2015," said Ashok Bajpai, General Manager, Taco Bell India.

 The company will first target the markets in metros and then venture into tier II and II cities and each restaurant will be around 3,000 sq ft in area.

 

Source: Franchise-India

Big Bazaar to expand in east, to open 18 new stores by October 2010Big Bazaar to expand in east, to open 18 new stores by October 2010

Kishore Biyani’s Future Group has decided to invest more than Rs 125 crore over the next six months to expand the Big Bazaar chain of hypermarts in the East. The group intends to nearly double the number of Big Bazaar outlets from 22, at present, to 40 by October in the region.

The latest thrust on expansion comes at a time when the group is betting on community retailing as the new business model for Big Bazaar. It has also created a sub-brand ‘Big Bazaar Family Centre’ that is completely focused on community retailing and is spread over 60,000-70,000 sq ft as compared to a Big Bazaar store spread over 35,000-40,000 sq ft.

In fact, the Future group also plans to reorient all the existing Big Bazaar stores in the region as per this new business model. It has plans to convert two existing Big Bazaar stores in Ranchi and Guwahati into Big Bazaar Family Centres.
“At present, Big Bazaar is spread over 10 lakh sq ft in the East. We will add another 6 lakh sq ft as part of the expansion process. While earlier the focus was to drive returns on a per sq ft, the model of this format has now changed completely. We now want to include products which may not lead to volume sales but will cater to the entire shopping basket of a family,” said Future Value Retail chief operations (East) Manish Agarwal.
Future Value Retail, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Future Group flagship Pantaloon Retail India Ltd, is a newlyformed company that owns the value formats – Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar.
As part of the expansion plan, Future Group will also enter into several newer markets in the East like Patna, Asansol, Agartala, Silchar, Deoghar, Bilaspur, Raniganj, Liluah and Gangtok. While the group already operates seven Big Bazaar stores in Kolkata, it plans to add another seven by October.
“We’ve already acquired real estate for the new stores and they are under various stages of development. Once the proposed Big Bazaar expansion is complete, we will look at new opportunities for standalone Food Bazaar stores in the East,” said Mr Agarwal.

Source: http://retail-guru.com/big-bazaar-to-expand-in-east-to-open-18-new-stores-by-october-2010/

Aloha Kinderstart to expand through franchising

Aloha India, with eight years of experience in managing franchisees and with a network of 1273 Aloha learning centres across India for various skill development training programmes for children, has launched their pre-school venture Aloha Kinderstart. 

Aloha India Private Limited is now ready to expand its pre-school brand Aloha Kinderstart through franchising. The company is looking at starting 50 pre-schools by June 2010 across India. The average investment of Aloha Kinderstart ranges from Rs six lakh to nine lakh for the unit franchisee and Rs 23 lakh for the Master Franchisee. 

Striving to prepare learners for life, Aloha Kinderstart takes a holistic approach to early learning using an integrated thematic curriculum. Aloha Kinderstart programme provides a variety of learning opportunities and experiences based on individual strength, needs, and interests of the children, and thereby prepares the next generation to take on the challenges of the future.

Aloha Kinderstart is the first and only  pre-school provider in India that offers four add on programmes as a  package to its  franchisees for the children within age group  4 -14 years. This can be conducted in the same infrastructure after school hours and weekends.  

Kumaran K, Chairman and Managing Director, Aloha India said, "The pre-school education industry is estimated as $ 300 million and is expected to grow by $1 billion by the year 2012. There is a huge opportunity in the industry. More than three hundred thousand pre-schools are required to address these demands but there are only two per cent organised pre-school players in the market."

Aloha India is looking forward to form partnerships with entrepreneurs who have the passion for educating the young minds. They also need to understand the seriousness of the business with sufficient resources to carry the brand the way it is expected to be delivered. The company is focusing on all metros and major cities including small towns pan India.

Aloha India has decided to participate in all Franchise India Expos across India to offer a unique business opportunity.

Source: Franchise-India

Sign franchisee opens office at Hyderabad

Sign-A-Rama, a sign franchisee worldwide that provides a platform for outdoor advertisements through the use of signs, opened its second franchisee office at Hyderabad, the first being in Chennai. 

The company, which was founded in the US in 1986, offers products and services such as banners, window graphics, dimension letters, channel letters, illuminated signs, directional signs and LED message centres. 

It currently has about 850 franchisees spread across 35 countries. 

The sign industry globally is estimated at $12 billion, the company said in a statement.

 

Source: Franchise-Plus

Contours International to expand its brand presence

Contours International, a chain of health and fitness centres for women has planned to open 200 gyms across the nation in the next five years, confirmed Chandra Gopalan, Master Franchisee, Contour International, India.  

The company is aiming to expand its presence in the metro cities, followed by its expansions in the tier II and III cities. The prospective franchisees will require a minimum area of 1,500 sq ft. and an investment of Rs 30-35 lakh for tier I cities. This includes cost of equipment, interior decoration and franchisee fee. The cost will vary for both tier II and III cities respectively.

Contours International presently supports six outlets including four in Bangalore and one each in Mumbai and Chennai. The company is further planning to expand the brand's presence across different regions in India.   

 

Source: Franchise-India

TCNS to come up with more EBOs

TCNS Clothing Company, makers of W and Aurelia is chalking out expansion plans for both the brands. The company is aiming at opening 10-30 exclusive brand outlets of W and two more EBOs for Aurelia. The EBOs will be a mix of franchised and company owned stores.

W presently has presence in around 400 retail outlets, part of which 80-100 are large format stores, 30 exclusive brand outlets and rest are multi-brand outlets across the nation. Recently, the company has opened one EBO each for Aurelia in Ludhiana and Guwahati.

Aurelia is the company's budget brand for women. It is meant for customers who do not look too much for fashion or newness but want a continuous flow of good quality fits and simpler products at sharper prices. While on the other hand, W is known for providing a total wardrobe solution to the modern Indian women. The brand with its unique design sensibility has transformed the Indian salwar kameez into a chic, urbane, and comfortable form. W comes up with five different ranges in a year.

 

Source: Franchise India

Brainsmiths Education to expand via franchise route

Brainsmiths Education, Indore-based leading training institute for IIT JEE/AIIM /AIEEE/AIPMT, is now planning to spread its wings through the franchise route. The company plans to open at least 200 centres over three years with focus on tier II and III cities. In the first year, it plans to add at least 23 more to its existing seven centres. 

Speaking to Inside Franchising, Jean Thomas John, director, Brainsmiths Education Pvt Ltd, said, "The core curriculum for Science and Mathematics, approved by the government recently, has been quite a welcome move. This will enable us to expand our business via franchising as we can have just one curriculum across all centres in the country. Earlier each state had its own curriculum and we had to offer state-specific material, which was a major hurdle. Now our focus will be on tier II & III cities as our model is best suited for these." 

Brainsmiths is looking to open centres in Karnataka and Kerala in the South, while in the West it is looking at cities like Nasik, Ahmednagar, etc. In Gujarat, they are targeting cities like Vadodara, Rajkot, etc., while in the North it is eyeing Ludhiana to start off with. The company is also looking to open at least 10 centres in cities like Bhopal, Jabalpur and the like. "Most of our expansion will be through the franchise route but we want to have at least one company-owned centre in each state," states John. 

Brainsmiths will offer the advantage of highly researched scientific study material and a faculty that is comparable to the best in the country. The franchisee may need to have educational background, or be a retired person from any service industry or even ex-army personnel. "We are not looking for regular investors because this business requires proper interest and monitoring," adds John. 

The area would be between 1,000 sq ft and 1,500 sq ft. The total investment would be about Rs 7 lakh, inclusive of the franchisee fee for all tier II & III cities. For metros, the investment may vary a little. The franchisee can breakeven within a year, while expecting a Return of Investment (RoI) of 85-90 per cent. 

Elaborating on the future of the coaching industry, John adds, "In every budget, the allocation of money to the education sector is increasing. Moreover, the government has already announced the opening of more IITs, NIITs and six new AIIMS. Further, it also plans to develop state-of-art colleges. Hence, the coaching industry is definitely going to boom and it has a very bright future." 

In less than nine years, Brainsmiths has enrolled more than 3,000 students. With seven operational centres across the region and many more in the offing, Brainsmiths is all set to lead in the education training space. 

Source: Franchise-Plus

Hamleys set to enter Indian market

UK-based Toy retailer Hamleys is set to open its first franchise outlet in India this month. 

It has just two international stores at present, in Dubai and Jordan. Hamleys will open its second shop in Dubai on March 16 and its first Indian shop in Mumbai on March 26, according to Retail Week. 

It had laid out plans to expand globally last year but suffered a setback after talks with a franchise partner in Russia collapsed. However, Hamleys has now partnered with franchisee Delta Sport to open in central Belgrade in Serbia this October. 

The retailer is also mulling shops in Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Albania and Macedonia.

 

Source: Franchise-Plus

Versace to open home-line store in India

Versace, an Italian fashion house is planning to open its first standalone outlet at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi. Blue Clothing Company (BCC), a Versace franchisee for India has signed a deal with the airport authorities early this month, confirmed, Abhay Gupta, ED, BCC.

Last year, BCC has signed a deal with the airport official to open exclusive Versace's clothing and accessories store at the airport. It is expected that the store will be operational by July this year. Both the apparel and home-line outlets will provide the latest collection of clothing, accessories, home furnishings and furniture. The collection will be available at the same price as in European markets.

Presently, BCC operates three exclusive outlets of Versace for its various brands in India. Out of these, two stores are at Emporio and one is at Oberoi Trident, Mumbai. The home collection of Versace includes crockery, cushions, vases, lighting, sofas and couches, dining, centre tables and chairs. The cost of the items can run into lakhs, with cheapest item priced at Rs 2,500. Versace had been pre-testing the demand for home collection with its Emporia store since December 2009.

 

Source: Franchise India

Domino's India set to open 500 outlets by 2013

Domino's India is aiming to become the top five markets in the world for Domino's Inc and is planning to open up 500 outlets in India by 2013. The company, which recently unveiled its 300th store in the domestic market, is aiming to achieve a turnover of Rs 420 crore by end of the financial year 2009-2010.

"India is a potential market. As of now, India contributes close to two and a half per cent to the overall global turnover. It is amongst the top 10 markets for us. It would probably contribute 5 per cent to the total global turnover to the total worldwide turnover. It would figure amongst the top five markets in the world in next few. Last year, India has been the fastest growing market for Domino's," Patrick Doyle, the new global CEO of Domino's Pizza, said. 

"By March 2010, Domino's India would be a Rs 420 crore company in terms of turnover. We have opened 65 new outlets in India over the last one-year. By end of this financial year, we would have 306 stores. A similar number of stores would come up during 2010-11 financial year. Domino's India has also recruited close to 1,800 new employees for their new outlets to cater to the consumers. With every new store we open we employ 25 new people," said the CEO of Domino's Pizza India, Ajay Kaul. 

The company is planning to invest around Rs 55 crore for expansion in the coming financial years. While 70 per cent of the company's sales come from home delivery, the rest 30 per cent is over-the-counter sales for Domino's India. 

Interestingly, Domino's, which is known for being an expert in delivery business, has failed to establish the market in China, another Asian market where it entered five years ago. It has only 16 stores in the country so far. 

"In India, we capture approximately 65 per cent of the Pizza delivery market which is of course a sub-set of the pizza and pasta which probably be the 2 per cent of the overall Rs 60,000 crore fast food market in the domestic market. We have almost 47 per cent market share in the overall pizza and pasta market in India today," said Kaul.

Source: Franchise-Plus

BSNL to opt for franchise route for WiMAX

BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited), a telecommunication company has recently short listed four companies for its WiMAX franchise. The companies short listed by the Government are Teracom Ltd, Take Solutions Ltd, Adishwar India Ltd, and Ampoules & Auto Private Ltd.  

The bidding norms laid by BSNL require that these companies be registered in India for more then a period of two years. The companies should have a minimum turnover of Rs 100 crore each in the last two years. In case the bidder is a foreign operator, then he is required to submit an undertaking regarding the registration of the company in India. This should be done before signing the agreement with BSNL and within 30 days of signing the letter of intent with BSNL. Conformity with FDI and other applicable rules are also required to be submitted by such companies.

Source: Franchise India

Speciality Restaurants plans to expand abroad via franchising

Speciality Restaurants that runs restaurant chain Mainland China and Oh! Calcutta is expanding its international presence this year. The firm is launching Mainland China in Dubai, Doha, Qatar and Sri Lanka through the franchise route. The firm's international presence is limited to Beijing and Bangladesh. 

Anjan Chatterjee, founder of Speciality Restaurants said, "We had plans of entering the US and UK but those plans have got delayed because of recession. However we are rolling out our restaurants in other international markets. Mainland China and Oh! Calcutta will be rolled out in Sri Lanka, Dubai, Doha and Qatar." 

In the domestic market, Speciality Restaurants is set to launch a new format, which is a Lebanese lounge bar named Kibbeh. The first Kibbeh lounge bar is coming up in Hyderabad. It is also planning to open another Mexican specialty restaurant this year. 

The restaurant chain operates 61 restaurants under Sigree, Flame & Grill, Hakka, Machaan, Mostly Kababs and Just Biryani besides Mainland China and Oh!Calcutta. It aims to have about 100 Mainland China up from existing 32 in two years. 

The company has earmarked an investment of about Rs 100 crore towards addition of about 20 new restaurants in India this year. The investment will be funded through internal accruals and debt. 

According to Chatterjee, long-term plans include an IPO in two years to provide exit opportunity to private equity firm, Saif Partners that holds about 12 percent stake in the company. Chatterjee added, "We will become the first Indian restaurant chain to be listed on the bourses." 

 

Source: Franchise-Plus

Domino’s Pizza opens 300th store in India

Jubilant FoodWorks, which holds the master franchisee rights for Domino's Pizza in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, has announced the opening of its 300th store of Domino`s Pizza in Delhi, which coincides with the 50th anniversary celebrations of Domino`s Worldwide. This store also happens to be Domino`s Pizza International`s 9,000th store worldwide. 

Patrick Doyle, chief executive officer (CEO), Domino`s Pizza, said, "For half a century, Domino`s Pizza has been able to grow and thrive thanks to the dedication and efforts of franchisees and team members the world over, as demonstrated by our teams in India and Louisiana. These are two of the largest and best franchisee organizations in our system, and its appropriate that they are sharing in this distinction." 

"It is a historical moment for us today as we open the 300th store of Dominos in India. It has been an exciting journey for us in India as we have set new standards in QSR industry and have built Domino`s in India as the leading Pizza brand. The success of our recent IPO will enable us to accelerate the journey of Dominos in India as we see a large opportunity to grow further," said Shyam S Bhartia, chairman and Hari S Bhartia, co-chairman, Jubilant FoodWorks. 

Ajay Kaul, chief executive officer (CEO), Jubilant FoodWorks, said, "Domino`s India is delighted that the 9000th store happens to be in India and we are honored that Patrick Doyle has chosen India as his first overseas market visit." 

"Domino`s India operations are the fastest growing operations in the Domino`s global system growing at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of almost 42 per cent for the last 5 years. We have also achieved market leadership in the organized pizza home delivery market in India and achieved a market share of 65 per cent. We have aggressive growth plans for future, to further build on this strong position," added Kaul.

 

Source: Franchise Plus

Re-feel hits a hundred

Re-feel, a Kolkata based cartridge refilling company is enjoying the completion of the opening of a100 outlets across the nation. Alkesh Agarwal, CEO, Re-feel says, "As we celebrate the opening of 100 stores, we are looking to greet our customers with some exciting offers by the end of this month. The amazing achievement in such a short time span has boosted the confidence of Re-feel and we are looking forward to replicate the success in the near future."

Presently, the company has stores from Jammu & Kashmir to Kerala and from Maharashtra to Assam. Besides the expansion, the company is also involved in spreading a 'green' message across the nation and has successfully created a massive awareness among the masses. The success of Re-feel has also reflected further on its franchisees. One of the franchisees said that they feel great to be a part of Re-feel, one of the leaders of the cartridge refilling industry.

The refilling market is approximately Rs 3000 crore industry. Re-feel now taps a major segment of the Indian market and presently leads the cartridge refilling industry in the country. The numbers are expected to multiply as the industry is still new and possesses great growth potential. The domestic market for printer cartridge refilling and remanufacturing has been estimated at Rs 3,000 crore, growing at 30 per cent annually. The cartridge refilling segment in India is highly fragmented, with almost 40,000 small refillers.

Dunkin Donuts eyes India

With Starbucks on its way in, can Dunkin’ Donuts be far behind?

Dunkin Brands Inc., the owner of Dunkin’ Donuts, the world’s “largest coffee and baked goods chain,” is in preliminary discussions with potential Indian partners to roll out the brand, which sells nearly one billion cups of java each year.

“We are ready with our India strategy and are hopeful that we will tie up with a local partner in the next 6-12 months to be our master franchisee and roll out the brand across India,” said Srinivas Kumar, vice-president of international business, in an interview with Mint at the company’s Canton, Massachusetts, headquarters. He declined to identify the potential partners.

Dunkin Brands, which has annual sales of C$6.7 billion, has about 7,300 Dunkin’ Donuts outlets across the world that generated $5 billion in sales last year. Some 5,300 of these stores are in the US. Dunkin Brands is not entirely unfimilar with India as its Baskin-Robbins icecream brand has been here for almost a decade.

But the coffee retailer, which has spent almost two years studying the Indian market, says it is in no hurry even if the likes of Starbucks have sought approvals from the Indian government to set up stores.

“India is a huge opportunity,” says Kumar. “It is a strategic market for us and we have done a large amount of preparatory work towards taking Dunkin’ Donuts there.

We have studied the market closely—the models that the existing coffee chains have been following and the beverage drinking habits of Indians.”

Unlike Starbucks, which makes no bones about the premiumness of its offerings and prices its coffee accordingly, or Indian chains such as Barista, Dunkin’ Donuts plans to go for the masses.

“We want the wallets of the country’s 250 million middle-class households,” says Kumar. “We are not interested in the one million Indian households who lead aspirational lifestyles and pay too much just to be seen having coffee at a particular chain. We want to be a no-fuss, no-pretension brand in India. We are aware that to be successful in India, you have to budget for the fact that it is a highly price-sensitive market.”

To cater to the price-sensitive India coffee drinker, the Dunkin’ India menu will have a mix of local coffees as well as its trademark Dunkin’ Original Coffee, a higher-end 100% Arabica blend. “This will ensure that consumers across categories will have something for them in the store,” said Srinivas. Tea, the predominant beverage in India, could also find a larger representation on its menu.

Dunkin’ Donuts is in talks with Indian partners, some of whom have access to real estate.

Despite a building boom, the organized retail boom in the country has meant that emerging retail chains, in a hurry to roll out their brands nationally, are snapping up all available space.

Source: SouthAsianPost

Sagar Ratna Hotels to expand overseas via franchising

New Delhi-based Sagar Ratna Hospitalities, owners of Swagath and Sagar Ratna chain of restaurants, is reportedly planning to venture into overseas markets in the coming years via the franchise route. Sagar Ratna is a vegetarian south Indian cuisine restaurant brand, while Swagath is a non-vegetarian Indian Mughlai, Manglorean, Malabari and Chinese cuisines brand.

According to Jayaram Banan, chairman and managing director, Sagar Ratna Hospitalities, the Group is planning to set up around 250 outlets in overseas markets in the next five years.

Banan said that the Group has already identified franchisees in places like Bangkok, in the UAE and Canada. “Our Bangkok outlet will be operational in the next 15 days. Two outlets -- one each of Swagath and Sagar Ratna -- will become operational in Ontario, and Toronto in Canada in April,” he said.

Sagar Ratna already has an outlet in Singapore. 


Source: Inside Franchising

Slice of Italy unveils 15th outlet

Slice of Italy, an Italian food chain recently launched its 15^th outlet in Indirapuram, Ghaziabad. It is a complete restaurant with dine-in, delivery and takeaway.

On the launch of the outlet, Anurag Sharma, VP, Slice of Italy said, “Three more projects are in the pipeline, which will be operational by mid April, 2010. We have also started a new shop-in-shop format and the first outlet based on this format will be operational by the end of March 2010.

He further stated that the company has aggressive plans for expansion in Delhi, NCR and the neighbouring states for the year 2010. The company is even looking for franchisees to expand its network across the nation. The company is aiming for locations preferably at high streets, shopping malls, colleges and even at office areas.

The company is also planning to launch a couple of new products to target various age groups.

Source:  Franchise India

KFC Holdings (Malaysia) to Spread Wings in India

Fast food operator, KFC Holdings (Malaysia) in a move to further spread its wings overseas, will establish 10 outlets in India this year.

Its Chairman Tan Sri Muhammad Ali Hashim said KFC, which operated 540 outlets in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Cambodia, would spend RM1.2 million to set up each outlet.

The franchisee of the KFC chain of restaurants invests an average RM35 million, annually, in its operations and sales had always excessed RM1 billion.

"The venture into India is a long-term move and the outlets there will only serve halal food," he told reporters after opening the KFC Graduate Enterprenuership 2010 Programme here on Sunday.

Muhammad Ali said two outlets would open in Mumbai, with one outlet operating in Pune, where several universities were located.

He also said KFC had 25,000 employees manning its outlets in Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia and Brunei and this figure was expected to spiral further as KFC opened more outlets.

KFC Holdings, which emerged as the most profitable among KFC operations in the region for two consecutive years, opened 44 outlets last year, with seven located in Cambodia.

On the graduate entreprenuership programme, Muhammad Ali said it had given birth to 63 women entreprenuers among single mothers and graduates.

KFC Holdings hopes to realise its target of helping 1,000 single mothers become entreprenuers, next year, under the programme.

Source: Franchise Mart

Quiznos on aggressive Franchise Expansion Quiznos - Fast food sandwich chain is launching an aggressive franchise expansion plan centered on convenience stores and gas stations.

Quiznos - Fast food sandwich chain is launching an aggressive franchise expansion plan centered on convenience stores and gas stations. According to the sources,  Quiznos seeks to increase the number of mini-stores it operates in these locations from the current 175 to 700 by 2012. 

Quiznos, which currently operates about 4,000 total restaurants in the U.S., also plans to add about 525 corporate locations in the next two years. The owners of convenience stores and gas stations which open Quiznos stores would become franchisees of the company. Franchisees pay the cost of remodeling their buildings, as well a 7% royalty fee and 4% advertising fee.

Source: Franchise India

MAAC to add 30 training centres by March 2011; seeks franchisees

3D animation and visual arts trainer Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics (MAAC) has announced plans to add 30 centres (mostly franchisees) by March next year. 

The institute, which was acquired by IT training and education major Aptech in January this year for Rs 76 crore, at present, has 70 centres across 40 cities. 

"We are planning to add 30 centres by March 2011 to strengthen our presence across tier I and II cities. We already have 70 centres, of which five are company-owned and rest through franchise," said Kuldeep Pareek, vice-president and head (sales), MAAC. 

Asked if post-acquisition, MAAC would be merged with Aptech, Pareek said: "There would be a dual branding strategy and the students would have the choice of joining either. MAAC would continue as a separate brand." 

Source: Franchise Plus

Jotun Paints eyes expansion in Kerala via franchising

Jotun Paints, producers and suppliers of paints and coatings, is extending its retail presence across Kerala by setting up 80 retail stores (mostly via franchise route) by 2011 from the present 55.

According to Percy Jijina, general manager, decorative, Jotun India Pvt Ltd, Kerala decorative paint market in the organised sector is estimated at Rs 600 crore and it offers the company several lucrative opportunities to expand its presence both in terms of production as well as distribution. 

Jijina said that the paint industry in the country is growing at the rate of 15 per cent, in spite of the economic slowdown, and Jotun has achieved a turnover of Rs 270 crore last year. 

The target is to achieve Rs 360 crore during this calendar year. The company has adopted a global strategy of retailing through exclusive showrooms to allow the consumer to explore a wide range of options. 

These showrooms have been set up by the group through a franchisee route and are managed by specially trained personnel, Jijina added.

Source: franchise-plus

M&S bets big on India, China

Marks & Spencer Group (M&S) executive chairman Stuart Rose said India and China will be key markets as the largest UK clothing retailer expands overseas.

International growth “is going to be a long-term journey,” Rose said at the Foreign Press Association in London. India is “ideally suited to the M&S demographic” and China will be a “viable business” in the next five years, he said.

The London-based retailer gets about 10 percent of sales from outside of the UK and aims to increase that proportion to about 30 percent, said Rose, who is due to relinquish control when Marc Bolland joins as chief executive officer in May.

He didn’t give a time frame. International grow th will help compensate for the UK, where “there isn’t going to be a lot of growth in the short term.”

“We’ve had a checkered history in terms of our overseas strategy, but to be a viable business you must expand,” Rose said on Thursday. “Because the brand is extremely strong, I believe we can sell more goods and services.”

Marks’s overseas expansion plans have faced some criticism, with Sanford C Bernstein analyst Luca Solca saying this week that “breakaway growth is not a good starting point” for Bolland. M&S should focus on its supply chain, food offering, direct sourcing and better branding, Solca wrote in a note.

“The key thing for Marc Bolland to do is not to repair the business, but to grow the business,” Rose said in response to the report “If you read the note, I don’t accept all the criticism in it. I would do it all again.”

Store openings in European countries including France and Belgium are also being considered, tho ugh opportunities are limited because of difficulty fi nding large enough store space, Rose said.

Outlets need to be about 30,000 to 40,000 sq ft “wh ich don’t become readily available.”

The chairman said the M&S store in China is “doing extremely well” and dismissed concern it’s filled with expatriate shoppers. The retailer will open a second outlet soon and “almost certainly” a third this year. Rose said he is “fairly confident we will be profit neutral in China within a year or so.”

source: Financial Chronicle