The Great Khali eyes gym chain

The professional wrestler Dalip Singh Rana, better known by his ring name The Great Khali, to flex his muscles at the gym, is planning to set up 50 gyms in India in a year and then look abroad. The USP being a combination of gym with fitness and wrestling.

‘’The theme of the gyms would look like a wrestling ring. As members enter the gym, Khali will greet them with an automated voice message. There will be a Khali gallery, which will display and sell merchandise like clothes and boots,’’ says Ankur Makan, Khali’s man handling the project.

To be launched as the The Great Khali Gym & Fitness Club, the large format gyms spread across 4,500-5,000 sq ft will come with unique features like a lounge, kids area, the Khali gallery, marathon track and usual ones like two spas, two Jacuzzis, sweat room, which can be used by 40-45 people at any given time. Users will have to shell out Rs 27,000-28,000 a year, which is similar to what premium gyms charge in Indian metros. 

Khali’s franchisees will have to invest Rs 3.5 crore in gym infrastructure, including approximately Rs 35 lakh sign-up fees to be paid to Khali. A franchisee will also incur variable costs of Rs 50-60 lakh a year, but can hope to make revenues of Rs 3.5 crore a year. ‘’Assuming a gym can get 700 members, it can make Rs 2 crore per annum purely from gym revenues. Plus, it could hope to make Rs 1.5 crore in revenues from the lounge, the Khali gallery, self-defence training for kids, zumba, aerobics, power yoga,’’ says Makan.

The lounge will sell food supplements like protein bars that sell for Rs 2,000/kg while the gallery will sell merchandise for wrestling. These are likely to be the two key non-gym revenues, says Makan. Every gym will be personally inaugurated by Khali. ‘’He doesn’t want to compromise on the service parameters like hygiene, personal trainers, and wants to ensure that it doesn’t spoil his name,’’ says Makan. 

The first gym will come up in Jaipur by January, and the second one in Delhi. Gyms in Tier-II or Tier-III cities will be smaller— these will have fewer machines, and one spa and one Jacuzzi. Khali is doing this project under Continental Wrestling Entertainment (CWE), his company which has set up a wrestling academy in Jalandhar in Punjab that has over 350 students. After India, Khali wants to open gyms in markets like the US, Canada and Dubai, where he enjoys good following.

Delhi Darbar opens first outlet in Eastern India

Leading restaurant chain Delhi Darbar has marked its presence in the state with the opening of an outlet in Bhubaneswar on franchise model.

This is the 46th outlet of the restaurant chain in the world and the first one in eastern India. Abroad, the multi-cuisine eatery has outlets in Dubai, Kabul and Russia and in the country, it has presence in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Udaipur, Raipur etc.

"The outlet in Bhubaneswar is spread over 2,300 sq ft. It will comprise of dining hall and a lounge. The rates of the items served will be competitive," said Akashdeep Mohanty, the promoter of the restaurant.

Delhi Darbar is famous for authentic indo-fusion Indian, Tandoor and Chinese food.

Customers can enjoy the taste of indo fusion cuisine mixed up with the Odia cuisines, he added. More than 70 items of Tandoor, 50 Indian cuisines and about 55 Chinese items will be served at the new restaurant. 

Dubai-based Fmart opens first store in India at Kochi

Fmart, a Dubai-based convenience store chain, today opened its first outlet in India in the city.

Kochi Mayor Tony Chammany inaugurated the country's first F-mart at Panampilly Nagar.

Yoonus Mohamed, Managing Director, Fmart Specialty Retail Concepts, said Fmart is a chain of contemporary convenience stores offering a wide range of FMCGs and other ethnically traditional branded foods.

"We are planning to open 25 Fmart stores in Kerala alone in 2015, mostly on franchised model," he added.

Kareem Abdullah, Director, said at present Emaco Investments, the holding company of Fmart, collectively runs 11 stores in various prime locations while it continues its accelerated growth by expanding in the Middle East and Asia.

"In India, each new Fmart outlet will require an investment of approximately Rs 30 lakh to start a franchise model store. Fmart offers four flexible franchise models with different investment plans to cater to different segments of society', Dr M A Babu, Director, said.

"Our franchise model is a low investment business opportunity along with premium margins, brand recognition and quality service', Yoonus Mohamed said.