Lord of the Fries to enter India

Vegetarian fast food franchise, Lord of the Fries has signed an agreement that will see it open 50 stores in India within the next 10 years, if not earlier. 

Richard McDonnell of McDonnell McPhee & Associates, the company that negotiated the deal, told Franchising the first outlet will open its doors by 31 March, 2015. 

“Directors are currently in India setting up supply chains, so it is all systems go.

“It's a master franchise agreement – an Indian group from Singapore have acquired the rights, they are Indian residents from Singapore." 

He added Lord of the Fries’ Indian menu will be adapted to suit the local market. 

Häfele expands franchise network

Architectural hardware provider Häfele expanding its franchise network across India. With this, the company is eying bigger pie of the segment. The company is aiming at 20% market growth every year. This year, Hafele India's turnover stood at Rs 260 crore.

Talking about the Indian market, Jürgen Wolf, Managing director, Häfele India said, "We have been in India for the last 13 years. The home improvement segments is one of the fastest growing. there have been dramatical changes over the last few years and concepts like modular kitchens are gaining acceptance.We are expanding our franchise network by adding new 8 to 9 studios across India. With the launch of this design studio, Häfele aims at bringing internationally acclaimed and innovative hardware and kitchen fitting solutions to our customers. We have heavily invested in logistics, design services and kitchen hardware."

The typical investment for a store ranges from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 3 crore depending upon the size and location of the store. The size range varies from 1500 sq feet to 3000 sq feet. The company is expanding is franchise network up to 65 centres from the current 56 centres. It is targeting customers in different verticals like the hotel, construction and carpentry industries. In addition, it is offering value-added services. Roughly, Häfele will be investing around Rs 5 crore for this expansion.

According to Wolf, Häfele imports most of its products from Europe and it does not sourced it locally. It has a manufacturing unit in Germany and China. In Maharashtra, the company is opening the studios in places like Kolhapur, Nashik, Nagpur and few more in Mumbai and Goa.The market is growing at 20% per year and is size of Rs 18,000 crore, but its large part is unorganised.

The company is expanding its footprints in other South East Asian countries like Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh.

SPACIO Decor & Accessories to expand its retail presence through Franchise

SPACIO, a leading brand in the furniture and accessories market, is planning to expand its “Decor & Accessories” business network through the franchise route.

The firm is looking to expand their network all over India in a period of 2 years approximately. They are looking at franchise investment close to Rs. 91 lakhs and an area requirement of 2500 sq. ft .They boast of a robust business model which can help achieve profitability in less time, wherein the returns can be up to 52% profitable. Some of the features which make SPACIO a revered name in the furniture industry include the fact that the brand has been a market leader for over two decades with one of the largest furniture stores in Eastern India and home to international brands from over 15 different countries. All these factors make the company a name to be looked at as a potential key changer in the market.

SPACIO, an initiative of S.T. Unicom Pvt. Ltd, who has been providing premium luxury lifestyle products across the country for quite a while and has challenged the norms of current notions prevailing from the last two decades. The quest for excelling in style and design has made SPACIO one of the most revered names in the furniture industry. The design philosophy of SPACIO is to surprise their customers with the best designs and styles possible and get them to have at least a good look at the designs for once.

On the occasion of this deal, Mr. Navin Kanodia, Director, S.T. Unicom Pvt. Ltd, the parent company of SPACIO said, “ India has moved towards better lifestyle and good living . We want to make home fashion accessories available to everyone.  This deal is one of the strategic moves to tap more business opportunities which can help us grow into potential game changers in the domestic market in the coming times.”

International brands to get a taste of India this year

The $13-billion Indian QSR (quick service restaurant) market, which is growing at 25-30 per cent annually, will see a lot more buzz with the entry of three international brands this year — Fatburger, Lord of the Fries and La Tasca.

Fatburger, a US-based premium burger chain that operates in 27 countries, will open in Cyber City, Delhi NCR, this month. Vazz Foods Pvt Ltd, the master franchisee for Fatburger in North India, will deliver the signature Fatburger experience with a variety of burgers customised to match the Indian palate.

“Vazz Foods has hired the best chefs to completely overhaul the original beef burger menu and customise it to match Indian tastes; much like McDonald’s, KFC and Domino’s did to popularise their food in India. The gourmet chicken, veggie and lamb burgers at Fatburger will be priced at 30-40 per cent more than McDonald’s burgers. 

Vazz Foods is planning to open five 1,500 sq ft Fatburger restaurants at an estimated cost of ₹1.5 crore each by December.

Lord of the Fries (LOTF), an Australian family-owned vegetarian QSR chain, has set its sights on the predominantly vegetarian Indian market. It will open its first restaurants outside Australia, sized between 600 and 1,000 sq ft in Delhi NCR this October. SGK International, promoted by Rajiv Vohra, has won the pan-India market franchise rights for opening 50 restaurants over 10 years.

While the first three-four restaurants will open in Delhi NCR at an estimated cost of ₹40 lakh a restaurant, SGK plans to open in Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai. The fries which are freshly cut, not frozen, using less fat and fried with high quality oil can be paired with a variety of sauces in vegetarian options.

Interestingly, the motto of the chain is “Our burgers are made with love – not animals”.

“LOTF is the first QSR chain in the country that offers fries as its core menu along with other vegetarian options such as hotdogs and burgers with mock-chicken/mutton patties made up of soy protein.

The consumer move from occasion-led dining to casual dining over the last few years has inspired the entry of several international brands such as Nando’s and Chili’s into India. The latest to join the fray is Spanish Tapas bar chain La Tasca, which has 45-50 restaurants in the US and the UK.

With rising disposable incomes, global exposure and the need to eat out more often, the under-penetrated India market could do with many more convenience, casual and fine dining options, according to experts.

The Yellow Chilli to open 25 new outlets by 2015

Celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor's The Yellow Chilli restaurant is ready to expand. The target is to start 25 more outlets in the country as well as abroad by next year.

"People who have a passion for food and have previous experience in the industry are welcome to be our franchise. We give them complete support in terms of marketing, product enhancement and upgradations from time to time," Satyaki Mukherjee, Business Development Manager, The Yellow Chilli, said.

The Yellow Chilli started franchising way back in 1998. Currently, the brand operates 26 outlets out of which 24 are franchise-run.

The brand's mission is to be an integral part of the worldwide hospitality industry in providing food lovers a range of scrumptious dishes served impeccably in a high tech atmosphere at down-to-earth prices.

Kids-wear retailers take the franchise route to expand

Kids-wear retailing has never been easy. Yet, the lack of a significant national retail brand is making existing retailers expand their stores through the franchise route.

“While there are severe challenges in kids wear retailing, there is also an opportunity. Today, there are hardly any kids specific retail brands at a national level. We intend adding 30 new stores this fiscal, all of which will be through franchises in new markets in the west and the north-east,’’ says Sharad Venkta, Managing Director, Toonz Retail.

Viable business model

Estimated at ₹25,000 crore, kids wear retail is pegged to grow at 20 per cent annually. Toonz India, with its 50 stores, believes that having the right business model in the kids wear segment holds the key to viable business.

“Since the average selling price of kids wear is generally less than that of men’s or women’s wear, we have decided to have smaller stores at 1500 sq to compensate lower net sales,” he added.

Going forward, all its future stores will be franchisee led with negligible investments from the promoters of the company.

Meanwhile, having crossed 100 stores, Mahindra Group-promoted Mom & Me Stores is also using the franchise model to expand into new territories.

“While the opportunity is huge in kids wear retail, there are challenges in terms of creating the right price point and products. We intend adding 20 franchise stores in smaller towns like Kolhapur and Sholapur and also in the north eastern states,” said K Venkataraman, CEO, Mahindra Retail.

Importing almost half its portfolio, Mom & Me has decided to focus on product procurement and sourcing while leaving the job of running its stores to franchises.

Meru Cabs’ founder Neeraj Gupta, retail veteran launch fruits & vegetables chain Freshkins

Neeraj Gupta, founder of Meru Cabs, has joined hands with K Radhakrishnan, former chief executive officer of KB Fair Price and president of Future Freshfoods Ltd, to float a new fruits & vegetables neighbourhood chain through a franchisee model.

Christened Freshkins Foods India Pvt Ltd, the venture would operate under the brand Freshkins and is eyeing Rs 50 crore turnover in the first year, as per a Business Standard report.

Former Future Freshfoods executive Anjaney Bhutada is leading the venture as its CEO.

The retail format is smaller and different from the supermarket chains run by Future Group or Reliance Retail. It has started operations in Mumbai and will expand to Pune, Chandigarh, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai in the near future.

The venture has collection centres at Nasik and Manchar, near Pune and a warehouse in Goregaon at Mumbai.

It is aiming at 50 stores in the first year generating a Rs 50 crore top-line. “In 18 months we propose to have 300 stores, a combination of exclusive outlets, mobile stores and shop-in-shops. The total investment will be Rs 20 crore since it is a franchise model. The back end is where much of our investment will go," Gupta, chairman of Freshkins, told the newspaper.

Gupta had earlier brought in India Value Fund to back his radio cab venture Meru Cabs.