America’s FATBURGER To Enter India

FATBURGER, the all-American burger chain, is set all to have its presence in India by last week of August.  The first location in India will be Cyber Hub, Gurgaon. FATBURGER is foraying into India via a Master franchise deal with Vazz Foods Pvt. Ltd.  With over 155 locations around the globe, the gourmet burger franchise continues to bring its quality cuisine to fans worldwide. 

Due to the Indian cultural and taste preferences, FATBURGER has adjusted the menu by incorporating chicken and lamb burgers into its menu as well as placing a significant emphasis on vegetarian options. Several new menu items also use the traditional flavours and spices of India to give the FATBURGER brand an exotic twist, like the Amritsari Onion Rings. Another new addition is The Fat Greek, which uses a unique innovative approach to the classic burger with a juicy, tender lamb patty smothered in homemade tzatziki sauce.

An all-American, Hollywood favourite, FATBURGER is a fast casual restaurant that serves big, juicy, tasty burgers, crafted specifically to each customer’s liking. With a legacy more than 62 years, FATBURGER’s extraordinary quality and taste inspire fierce loyalty amongst its fan base.

Andy Wiederhorn, CEO, FATBURGER says: “Though FATBURGER is famous for its freshly made burgers, we have so much to offer our global fans in terms of variety and flexibility in our vegetarian and non-vegetarian flavour options.”

Mussarat Kang, Head Operations, Vazz Foods Pvt. Ltd says: “We had a lot of fun exploring new menu concepts for our first location, and we anticipate great success in sharing the FATBURGER standard of quality coupled with freshly made- to-order burgers with residents in the market. The Gurgaon location will also be complete with table service and a full bar.”

VITS Hotels to expand base in Gujarat

Mumbai-based VITS Hotels is eying six cities in Gujarat to set up luxury hotels and expand its base, the company said on Wednesday.

VITS Hotels, which opened its first property under the VITS brand at Ankleshwar in Gujarat last month, currently has eight hotels under this brand. Its six more proposed hotels in Gujarat would be opened in the next 12 months at Ahmadabad, Vadodara, Bharuch, Surat, Valsad and Rajkot.

In Maharashtra, the company has five hotels under the same brand in Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Aurangabad and Latur. Besides Maharashtra, the company has two other hotels in Bhubaneshwar in Orissa and Tirupur in Tamil Nadu.

“We have decided to expand our base mainly through franchise model and we will be tying up with more and more hotels to expand the VITS brand”, said Executive Director of Kamat Hotels India Ltd (KHIL), Vikram Kamat. “We have also made a conscious decision not to go for management of hotel as of now”, he added.

VITS Hotels would target Tier II and Tier III cities. Talks are on at various stages to enter into franchise agreement in a few states in western India.

World's 3rd largest hamburger chain Wendy's set to enter India

The Wendy's Company (TWC), the world's third largest quick-service hamburger company, is set to enter the $50 billion Indian quick service restaurants market. The Nasdaq listed restaurant chain operator under the Wendy's brand has entered into an agreement with Sierra Nevada Restaurants Pvt Ltd (SNRPL) to develop and operate restaurants across India.

Specific details about the nature of this agreement with TWC for India foray and time frame for getting the Wendy's outlets operations in India were not been disclosed.

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) listed Rollatainers, one of India's leading consumer packaging, restaurant and food services companies, owns 50% stake in SNRPL with the balance being held by International Market Management Ltd (IMM).

A wholly owned subsidiary of Rollatainers, Carnation Hospitality Pvt Ltd had recently (August 11, 2014) acquired India's second largest coffe chain (with international presence) the Barista Coffee Company Ltd from Lavazza.

A recent entrant in the food business Rollatainers, through its subsidiary Carnation, had instituted a joint venture in July this year with IMM for setting up Jamie's Italian restaurant franchise in India. Carnation had also entered into business purchase agreements with Welgrow Hotel Concepts Pvt Ltd, which owns and operates Sartoria and Kylin and with Mapple Hospitality Pvt Ltd, which owns and operates Mapple Foods.

Operating for over three decades in the consumer packaging industry and in particular, as a supplier to the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector, Rollatainers's clientele includes fast moving consumer goods companies like Amul, Britannia, Conagra Foods, Ferrero India, Lotte, Nestle, Pepsico, Perfetti Van Melle, Sahara Q Shop, Tata Global Beverages and Unilever.

It's entry into the food business, company officials had stated earlier, is a natural extension for Rollatainers into the attractive consumer food segment and also leverages its existing experience of working with international brands.

Operating over 6,500 franchise and company outlets in the United States and 29 countries globally, TWC was recently in the news when US's second largest QSR operator Burger King (with a market capitalisation of $11.5 billion) acquired Canadian doughnut-and-coffee chain Tim Hortons, which was spun-off by Wendy's back in 2005.

Amsterdam-Based Hypermarket Chain Ties Up With Max Hypermarkets

Spar International, an Amsterdam-based brand has entered into a partnership with Max Hypermarkets to open over 30 Spar Hypermarkets across India by 2019. Under the partnership, 13 currently operational stores will be reconverted as Spar brand in the coming months and a further 20 stores would be opened nationwide over the next five years. The plan foresees retail sales exceeding €300 million (Rs 2,400 crore) by 2019.

The new agreement builds on the previous partnership between the two companies, which saw the launch of Spar-branded hypermarkets across six states in India. Dr Gordon Campbell, Managing Director, Spar International said: “Our new partnership with Max Hypermarkets reaffirms the suitability of the Spar business model to the retail market in India. The Spar brand values the efforts of Max Hypermarkets which have enabled us to develop a strong customer franchise, and, as a result, the Spar brand is well-known and respected by consumers in India.”

He added that the partnership will help bring quality fresh foods, low prices and a convenient shopping environment to consumers in India.

Viney Singh, Managing Director, Max Hypermarkets, said: “We are pleased to renew and extend our business partnership with Spar International. This new arrangement will ensure that the stores are operated to the highest international standards of quality and food safety and provide customers with an enhanced shopping experience. We look forward to work with Spar to rapidly expand the chain and increase our footprint nationwide.”

Childrens Place To Enter India Through Franchise

A pure-play children’s specialty apparel retailer, Childrens Place Inc (NASDAQ:PLCE) disclosed that it had struck a partnership agreement with India-based Arvind Lifestyle Brands Limited to launch stores in India. The first openings are scheduled during the fall of 2015. There could be a potential of 50 stores after the first launch.

International Presence

The company President and Chief Executive Officer, Jane Elfers, said that it was making significant steps in its global franchise business as the company was focused on offering great value and fashion to the kids around the world. He said that Arvind has an established record in the Indian market and also operates successful brands. The Childrens Place Inc (NASDAQ:PLCE) would be the first of its kind in India specifically for the age group of 0 – 14.

The CEO also disclosed that it was committed to continuing its execution of E-Commerce growth, international and wholesale business expansions apart from investments in seamless retail and rationalization of fleet to deliver sustainable long-term growth.

Arvind to open 40 Gap stores in India

Retailer Arvind Ltd said it hopes to generate sales of Rs.1,000 crore from its franchise agreement with US retailer Gap Inc. Arvind also bagged rights to sell Gap online, a deal that was earlier expected to go to online fashion retailer Myntra. Arvind, which sells owned brands such as Flying Machine and Excalibur as well as licensed brands such as Arrow and Tommy Hilfiger, will invest more than Rs.400 crore over the next five years to open 40 Gap stores in India. The first few stores will be launched in Mumbai and Delhi in May 2015, said J. Suresh, managing director of Arvind Lifestyle Brands, Arvind’s retail unit. 

Hotel chains warm up to franchise model

Two months ago, the management of the Tata Group's budget hotel brand Ginger set up a special six-member task force. It's been entrusted with plotting Ginger's rapid growth through franchising, something the brand hasn't attempted before.

"So far Ginger has grown through greenfield developments, but now we are studying the different facets of the franchise model to scale up our presence," said PK Mohankumar, MD and chief, Roots Corporation, the Tata-run Taj hotel group subsidiary that manages Ginger Hotels.

Executives at Indian and international hotel chains are warming up to the franchise concept as it's turning out to be a viable growth model for hotel brands and asset owners. It's also less prone to the risk of going awry than management contracts, although the latter generate more revenue.

Ginger plans 80 hotels by 2016-17, up from the current 30, and the bulk of these will be franchises. Franchises account for a third of the 15 properties in the portfolio of mid-market chain Keys Hotels.

"It helps in ramping up business and to scale brand visibility more quickly," said Sanjay Sethi, managing director and CEO of Berggruen Hotels, which owns the Keys Hotels brand. Global chain Hilton Worldwide opened the Double Tree by Hilton in Pune under a franchise agreement with city-based Panchshil Realty. "We would consider franchising in instances where the owning company of a hotel has strong credentials in managing a hotel to the highest standards," said Rajesh Punjabi, vicepresident, development, India, Hilton Worldwide.

In the last few years, there have been several cases of owner-brand ties turning sour under management contracts. The franchise model bridges the gap between the owner's cost concerns and the hotel brand's expansion ambitions.

"There is lesser friction because if you are not managing the hotel then the owner cannot do the finger pointing," said Dilip Puri, India managing director of Starwood Asia Pacific Hotels and Resorts, which recently converted two of its existing five-star hotels in the south that were under management contracts into franchises.

But brands also need to ensure that standards are maintained. "Some owners develop the capability of managing the hotel well and it is in these cases we consider changing from a management contract to a franchise," Puri said. Under the franchise model, the hotel company gets a fixed fee for licensing its brand while the owner operates and manages the hotel.

"It helps in reducing the operations cost structure and puts the onus of performance on the asset owner without sacrificing fees for the hotel brand company," said Priyakant Amin, director, Convention Hotels India (CHI), which owns and builds hotels. Typically, a management contract entails a hotel brand getting a fixed percentage of the revenue and operating profits whereas a franchise involves only the brand licensing fee.

"The brand takes up almost 10-12 per cent of the top line in terms of all the charges in a management contract, whereas under a franchise we can save almost 5 per cent of that cost on the top line," said a Bangalorebased hotel owner who has plans of converting his upscale hotel into a franchise property.

However, the revenue earned by a hotel brand under this model is only around 40 per cent of what it gets in a management contract.

Nation’s Fastest Growing Pizza Franchise to Break Ground in India

Marco’s Pizza, the fastest-growing pizza franchise in the United States, recently announced its first franchise deal in India with plans to open 400 stores over the next 10 years.

Leading the expansion in India are DJ Patel and Monaliza Patel who have a combined 33 plus years of experience working in the pizza and franchise sectors. 

“We are thrilled to launch operations in an untapped market such as India with two phenomenal Marco’s Pizza area representatives native to the area,” said Bryon Stephens, President and COO of Marco’s Pizza. “We look forward to the expansion goals DJ and Monaliza have put in place in India, based on their sound market research, with their first store opening before the close of the year.”

Marco’s Pizza’s recipe for growth has been a culmination of a robust authentic product, a strong community image, and a mission to delight customers. As the only national franchise chain founded by a native Italian, Marco’s Pizza has carved out a niche in the industry as experts in authentic Italian pizza. With 500 locations strong and more than 1,500 new franchise deals signed in 2013, the company is on track to quadruple its store count in the coming 5-7 years.

Presto Announces Launch of Three New Franchise Stores

Presto, the leading brand in personalised gifting industry announced the inauguration of three new franchises in Bhopal, Chennai and Mumbai. Following the launch of its online portal Presto rolled out the franchising plan with an aim to help aspiring entrepreneurs to have a share in the success of the Presto brand while supporting the company’s ambition to expand its market presence.

The grand prospect that the personalisation industry boasts, Presto’s franchise propositions have created a win-win situation both for the brand as well as for the franchise owners. Presto franchises in in Bhopal,Chennai and in Mumbai are latest additions to its 130+ store count across India. In the near future, Presto is eyeing to penetrate the global marketplace by opening franchise stores in foreign locations.

According to Mr Anil K. Jhawar, one of the founder Directors of Presto, “Franchising has always been an ideal growth vehicle for any brand and ours is no different.” He added. “With more and more aspiring entrepreneurs joining our profit-driven franchise bandwagon, we have been able to re-emphasize on our product development model, refine brand building strategies and modified different technical aspects so as to support our franchise owners in the best manner. With the right entrepreneurial spirit, our franchise owners have been able to add to our brand value while deriving volumes of profit.”

Presto’s franchise opportunities have opened the doorway for IT professionals and women to earn surplus revenue, without investing extensive time. Presto also offers all-round support to the franchises As far as the training is concerned, Presto will offer all-round support system to its franchisees. Right from site selection to providing assistance in store fit-outs, staff-recruitment and training to store merchandising, Presto takes care of all the necessary things, thus minimizing the hassle of the franchise owners.