Celio continues India focus, targets opening 100 stores by ’16

Celio, the French fashion retailer is all set to strengthen its connection with Indian customers. The brand, is eyeing a bigger pie of India’s organized menswear retail market. Celio brings an essentially urban European fashion trend through its collection of shirts, jackets, waistcoats, trousers, suits, jackets and accessories.

In India, Celio offers a wide range of smart casual, business wear, sportswear, clubwear and denims. Celio had stepped into the country in 2008, the brand opened its first store in R City, Mumbai in 2009. Today the brand runs 40 exclusive brand stores which are fully company owned and operated and 128 shop-in-shops. The brand has also penetrated through large format stores like Pantaloons, Central and Lifestyle. Celio is looking at rolling out 100 stores by 2016.

Riding the booming e-commerce wave, the brand has already registered 7 percent of its total revenue in the domestic market through online sales. It has tied up with leading ecommerce portals like Myntra, Jabong, Flipkart and Amazon. “The urban Indian youth is aspiring for fast, effortless fashion. In India the younger generation is as fashion seeking as their global counterparts. They have exposure of international trends through the net, TV and mobile. We want people to come up to us for global fashion,” says Rajiv Nair, CEO, Celio, Future Fashion.

Driven by a strong conviction in India market, the brand is eyeing deeper penetration through retail expansion and a strategic communication plan targeted at young consumers. “We are essentially a retail oriented company which means our philosophy or strategy is store, product and customer service centric. We are exploring various routes to increase our penetration and strongly believe internet is the way,” he says.

“We have a legacy of two decades and in India we are just a starter, we are still understanding the market. We see ourselves as a retailer first, backed by a fantastic manufacturing set up. We manufacture four crore garments in Asia per annum and 10 lakh of these per annum are for India. We are taking the slow route. We have set the route and standards. Now, our goal is to get profits at the corporate level,” adds Nair.

Although the brand is not in a hurry to open franchisee stores it does plan to slowly tap that route. “Even though we are looking at franchisee stores for expansion, it won’t be bigger than our company stores. We understand that we have to take the franchisee route to get into smaller territories,” sums up Nair.

US-Based Smoothie Factory To Open 90 Stores By 2019

Smoothie Factory, a US-based health and wellness cafe is planning to open 90 outlets by the end of 2019. Out of these 40-45 would be company owned and the rest would be franchisee run.  Around 50-60 of these will be bigger cafe formats spread between 1,200-1,500 square feet and the rest will be mini formats with an area of about 400 square feet. The company is looking forward to explore Northern and Eastern regions. It will open at places like Chandigarh, Jaipur and Kolkata.

Arjun Khera, Chief Brand Officer, Smoothie Factory India says, “We will start seeking able franchisees by October onwards. Each cafe format store will have an expected revenue of Rs. 15 lakh per month and the smaller ones would have around Rs. 9 lakh per month. We shall invest around Rs. 50 crore for setting up our company owned outlets in the next five years.”

Smoothie Factory started from Carrollton, Texas in 1996. Today it has a presence in 13 countries including USA, India, China, Vietnam, Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia. The brand started its operations in India in September, 2013. Presently it has two operational outlets in India. The third one will be launched soon. All three are located in Delhi NCR. While the fourth and fifth outlet will be added by the end of March 2015. These shall also be in Delhi NCR region. All five are company operated.

Smoothie Factory offerings include real fruit smoothies, freshly squeezed juices, frozen yogurts, salads and waffles. The company is revamping its menu by launching shakes suiting Indian taste apart from serving tandoori options that allure the local people.

US Burger Chain Carl’s Jr To Make India Debut

California-based burger chain Carl’s Jr will be opening 100 burger restaurants in India through its franchise partner CybizCorp.

The development came to light following announcement of CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc, (CKE), parent company of Carl’s Jr, signing up a development agreement with India’s Cybiz BrightStar Restaurants Private Limited, owned by CybizCorp.

The initial agreement is for opening 100 Carl’s Jr. premium burger restaurants and CKE believes there is potential for more than 1,000 restaurants in India over the period of time. “We have been preparing for an entry in India for more than three years, and after substantial due diligence we decided to sign CybizCorp as our franchise partner in the country,” stated Ned Lyerly, President of International at CKE Restaurants.

“We see tremendous potential in the Indian market, and CybizCorp’s proven track record in the franchise sector in both real estate and F&B gives us great confidence in the partnership and our future success in the country,” he adds.

On this, Sam Chopra, Group Chairman and Founder of CybizCorp, commented, “The time is right for a premium burger quick-service restaurant such as Carl’s Jr. to enter India, as we are witnessing a ‘Burger Revolution’ in our country, parallel phenomena that was witnessed in the Pizzas and Pasta category a decade back. The advent of multiple brands in the premium burger category in the recent past bears testimony to this trend. After successfully managing the Master Franchises of some of the most premium stand alone outlets in the country, representing an iconic brand like Carl’s Jr will be an exciting proposition.”

Sbarro To Open 40 Outlets Pan-India

Sbarro, an American-Italian pizza restaurant chain, is planning aggressive expansion in North and East India. The company plans to open upto 40 outlets in the next five years in Delhi NCR, Punjab, Rajasthan, Kolkata and Gujarat at key strategic locations like malls, metro locations, airports, universities and tech parks. 

Setting foot in North India, the brand that specialises in New York-style pizzas and other Italian-American cuisine, recently launched its first outlet at Huda City Centre Metro Station, Gurgaon. JIFPL - Jyoti International Foods Pvt. Ltd, a leading company in the food supply chain/cold chain sector, is the Master Franchisee of Sbarro for North and East India. JIFPL started its services in 2003 as a Subway franchisee and launched its distribution and logistics services in 2005. Their clientele includes Subway, Chili’s, Krispy Kreme, and Starbucks. 

The Sbarro brand continues to expand in India largely due to our guests’ demand for our high-quality pizzas and Italian food, but also mainly because of our greatfranchise partners. With the support of our partners, India has proven to provide a solid foundation for our brand and we look forward to many continued successes,” said J David Karam, CEO and Chairman, Board of Sbarro LLC.

Speaking on the occasion, Akhil Puri, CEO, JIFPL said, “We aim to build a connect with our customers by promoting the "My Life My Slice" concept and by providing them with fresh and high-quality food at an affordable price.”

Suresh Talreja, MD, JIFPL also commented, “Our endeavour is to bring a fresh perspective to the Italian QSR segment by introducing the pizza-by-slice concept. We hope that the brand will create a niche place for itself in the consumer mind space.” 

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.”

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.

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.

India will soon become the largest overseas franchise for Domino’s Pizza

Jubilant FoodWorks, the company that operates a number of US brand-name restaurants in India, announced on Friday that they intend to make India the biggest worldwide market for Domino’s Pizza next to the US. Earlier in the week, India got its 700th Domino’s Pizza franchise, as Gurgaon welcomed yet another installation of the pizza giant. Jubilant FoodWorks, which also operates Dunkin’ Donuts and other such commercialized restaurant labels, told the Press Trust of India that the UK still leads India with 720 franchises, but says that the very small gap should be closed very soon.
Jubilant is also investing in a small number of high-output factories across India, at a cost estimated to be as high as Rs. 200 crore. Factories are going to open up in hot spots like Hyderabad, Nagpur, and Guwahati, with the latter being ready soonest. The Guwahati plant should be operational by September at the latest, while the Nagpur and Hyderabad facilities should open either towards the tail end of this year or early next year.
“In the last one year, Domino’s Pizza has aggressively strengthened its presence in tier II and tier III cities,” the company said in a press release. “The brand has constantly focused on winning a loyal customer base across India through its tasty Pizza offerings, unmatched delivery promise and warm guest service approach.”
The company also stated that “Domino’s Pizza India operations are the fastest growing operations in the Domino’s global system. The company also continues to be market leaders in the organized pizza market with a 67% market share in India (as per latest Euro monitor report).”
Jubilant said that it also plans to aggressively expand its Dunkin’ Donuts operations. The company opened 20 outfits over the last year, and just opened its first location in Mumbai. Jubilant said that the next major metropolis it has its eyes on is Bangalore, where it hopes to have a fully function Dunkin’ Donuts opened by the end of 2014. The Bangalore franchise will be the company’s inaugural excursion into south India, and will stand as a litmus test for future branches in Hyderabad and Chennai.

Canadian cafe chain Tim Hortons plans India foray

Tim Hortons, the largest quick-service restaurant (QSR) chain in Canada, is planning to enter the Indian market.Tim Hortons has been scouting for a franchisee partner.

“Over the last 4-5 months the Canadian cafe chain has been speaking to several people regarding a franchise agreement. They are yet to finalise on a partner but talks are in progress,” said a person privy to the development.

A global retail consultant working with several global cafe majors too confirmed that Tim Hortons has been looking for an India partner.

Another industry official also familiar with the development said the company is likely to adopt a similar franchisee strategy it did while entering Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations.

“They tied up with Apparel FZCO and the Dubai-based Apparel to expand in the Gulf market, so its likely that in the Indian market too they will be looking at a big franchisee partner of similar strength and standing.”

However, in an email response, the company said it did not have any plans at this time to expand into India.

Tim Hortons officials had earlier mentioned in 2010 that going ahead they will be looking at exploring new markets such as India and China, but will enter when they have a detailed plan chalked out.

Considering that the sales in the developed markets such as the US have been under tremendous pressure, it is not surprising that cafe chains are looking at nascent market, said retail experts.

Since the Indian cafe market is slowly becoming bigger, more players have been evaluating an India entry. The organised (or upmarket) Indian cafe market is estimated to have notched up sales of Rs1,246 crore in 2012 and the the figure is expected to bubble up to Rs2,222 crore by 2017, as per Technopak estimates.

Source : dna exclusive

Manhattan Pizza Hires Sparkleminds to Roll Out International Pizza Franchises In India

Bangalore, India (PressExposure) October 25, 2012 -- Manhattan Pizza ( http://www.manhattanpizza.com )a U.S.A based restaurant group, with expertise in making gourmet pizzas plans its strategy to enter the Indian market. Manhattan Pizza is well-known for its award winning New York Style preparation of Pizzas and their entry into the lucrative Indian market seems opportune as the Indian audience has now matured to the authentic taste of Pizza.

In July of 2009 and 2011 Manhattan Pizza was voted as the best pizza by readers of the Washingtonian Magazine. This is an honour bestowed to only the finest dining establishments in the Washington DC area.Along with serving delectable NY Pizza,Manhattan also offer Subs, Salads, Sandwiches, Calzones, Souvlaki, Gyros and Pastas making the menu both extensive and scrumptious. When one enters a Manhattan Pizzeria they experience a little bit of Italy, a wee bit of Greece and Americana in the comfort of their own neighbourhood.

The Azar brothersstarted operations in 1997 and with several years of prior restaurant experience developed Manhattan Pizza into a neighbourhood "fast casual" pizzeria that is second to none. Ever since its start Manhattan Pizza's loyal customer base has grown exponentially. Manhattan has been serving delectable New York style pizza by combining the freshest, highest quality ingredients with authentic original Italian and Greek recipes for over a decade. The décor of the outlets are New York themed with wooden floors and a cosy ambience and sounds which currently is lacking in the Indian market where all the chains have a similar look and feel.

Jack Azar, Founder & CEO of Manhattan Pizza is eager to step into the Indian market and is confident of great response, "We don't feel like a monotonous Pizza chain and eating a pie at Manhattan is an experience around which memories are made, we are not just another Pizza joint, we are your friendly neighbourhood pizzeria where the food is always fresh and hot and the serving staff are always warm and jovial."

P.K. Goriparthi, Executive Director & Head of International Expansion for Manhattan Pizza had the following to say after completing an exhaustive tour across India in August 2012. "The timing looks optimum and the market still remains an open ball park even with the head start a few chains might have had. Wereceived very nice response already and see a lot of scope to grow not only in the tier I cities but also in tier II cities. I am optimistic and excited to bring Manhattan Pizza to India."

Reliance Brands opens first Superdry store in India at Mumbai

Reliance Brands has opened the first Superdry store in India at Palladium mall, Lower Parel, Mumbai. Spread over 1,750 sq.ft., the outlet stocks T-shirts, jeans, sweaters, joggers, shirts, rugby shirts, polo shirts, bags, and accessories for both men and women.

SuperGroup and Reliance Brands entered a long-term franchise agreement this year in July to bring the British fashion brand Superdry to India. SuperGroup, which employs over 2,000 staff, owns the Superdry brand. 

The collection at the store targets young people between 15 and 30 years.

Superdry claims that it has been worn by celebrities from David Beckham and Ben Stiller to Ewan McGregor, Jamie Oliver, Shakira, Mariah Carey, Pixie Lott, and Helena Christensen.

The price range for menswear is from Rs 2,000 to 12,000 while womenswear ranges from Rs 1,500 to Rs 8,000.

Me n Moms unveils first franchise outlet in India

Me n Moms, the fastest growing homegrown retail kids wear and accessories chain, has launched its first franchise store in the country. Located in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, the store is spread across 1,000 square feet, and exhibits a dedicated range of kids wear and accessories under seven categories along with maternity care products for pre-natal and post-natal care. The store aims to become a ‘one-stop destination’ for both mothers and their children. 

Naresh Khatar, chairman and managing director, Me n Moms, said, “Keeping in mind the fact that the Indian market for Infant’s apparel is registering a healthy annual growth rate of more than 15 per cent and India is poised to be one of the largest consumer markets, a lot remains to be tapped in the organized retail space thus paving opportunities for franchise models as well. We are happy to announce our first franchise owned and operated store in Guntur. “

“We have chosen this route to grow faster and keep ourselves abreast with the ever changing retail scenario. We have arrived at selecting this city for pursuing our franchise model, post careful evaluation of markets. We are looking at replicating this model across India for our brand,” Khatar added. 

The products at Me n Moms range from footwear, furniture and toys to baby play-time and bath-time accessories. It also offers products from several other big brands in the same category under one roof as well as tailor-made products for expecting and new mothers. The products are a combination of quality and affordability par excellence that aim to promote the ‘joy of parenting’. 

The company currently has a turnover of Rs 80 crore and aims to reach the Rs 300 crore mark within the next five years. It currently has 12 exclusive stores (Lucknow: 1, Hyderabad: 3, Mumbai: 3, Noida: 1, Pune: 3, Nasik: 1)

UK's PizzaExpress to debut in India soon; hires CEO

The UK-based casual dining restaurant chain PizzaExpress has kicked off the process of starting its India operation, almost eight months after signing a 50-50 joint venture partnership with Bharti Family Office. As a first step, a chief executive officer (CEO) has been hired for the India business, and the company is learnt to be looking at a year-end launch of the chain. The first few outlets of the PizzaExpress chain are expected to open in metros like Mumbai and Delhi, reports Business Standard.

Ramit Mittal, son of Rakesh Mittal, vice-chairman and managing director of Bharti Enterprises and elder brother of Bharti Group chairman Sunil Mittal, is spearheading the PizzaExpress project from the Bharti Family Office side. Bharti Family Office is an initiative of the promoters of the Bharti group through their personal investments. The Bharti group’s business interest ranges from telecom to media to retail. 

Since Ramit Mittal, 33, is already based in Mumbai as co-founder and joint managing director of Bulldog Media and Entertainment, PizzaExpress is likely to have its India headquarters in the same city, people close to the development say. 

An official representing the joint venture confirmed that Vivek Mathur, who’s coming from the Godrej group, has been appointed CEO for PizzaExpress India. Over the next two to three months, many more senior and middle-level appointments are slated to take place. 

Mathur was executive director and president (marketing, sales and innovation) at Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. Prior to that, he was managing director at Godrej Hershey Ltd and chief operating officer (marketing, sales) at Godrej Sara Lee. He has also worked with Tata Global Beverages Ltd and Hindustan Unilever Ltd. 

“The joint venture is making progress as per our plans. We continue to work on developing the brand, business and team in India. However, at this stage, we don’t have anything specific to share,” a company spokesperson was quoted as saying in the report. 

Spanish designer Adolfo Dominguez catwalks into India

Adolfo Dominguez, the Spanish designer recently unveiled his flagship store in New Delhi. The store has stocked the latest spring/summer 2011 clothing and accessories collection, for both men and women.

For its Indian operations, Adolfo Dominguez has entered in to an eight-year exclusive master franchise agreement with Wadhavan Lifestyle Retail and has plans to pump in around Rs 500 million to establish the brand in India.

In 2008, Wadhavan Lifestyle had brought the American urban street wear brand Ed Hardy to India. With over 35 years of experience in about 37 countries, the first Spanish Adolfo Domínguez stores opened in 1982 in Madrid and Barcelona.

As a marketing strategy, Wadhavan wants a lot of consumers to be aware about Adolfo Dominguez. They have started with a little bit of marketing by creating some awareness about the brand. Apart from which, other activities would talk about the luck and heritage of the brand.

Mr Abhinav Zutshi, Head – International Brands, Wadhavan Lifestyle Retail Pvt. Ltd spoke exclusively to fibre2fashion about their future plans for the Adolfo Dominguez brand in India and the potential for European designer wears in the Indian market.

Speaking about the potential for European designer wears, he said, “I think, in the last 3-4 years, a lot of European brands have come to India and have been well accepted by the consumers. This is the right time for new brands to come into India and try the market.

“For all the global brands, China and India are now the largest markets in the world and it’s high time that they come in and see how their products click with the Indian consumer. I think there is tremendous potential for all these brands to come in. The consumers and the markets are available. According to me, this is the best time to be in India”.

Giving an insight in to the trends of the Indian market, he informed, “Mostly the Indian brands have either focused on women’s wear or men’s wear because these are the two main categories in India. But apart from this there is a lot of scope for kids wears as well as home products.

He added by saying, “The Indian consumer is maturing and has a fair understanding about international styling and products across all categories. In the next five years, one will see a lot of activities and lot of global brands coming in to India”.

On the strategy to increase their presence in India, he said, “I think the strategy goes hand in hand with the availability of real estate. Good real estate basically means good malls and good hyper cities at a place where all like-minded brands are available, which gives the consumer a wider choice as well as create awareness levels.

“So based on how the market is evolving and the number of malls coming up in the next two years, we will be sounding out bigger metros like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata and Chennai. After a period of two years we willexplore other cities like Pune and Nagpur. These are the cities where the brand evolution will be slower”.

Mr Zutshi however was critical about the imposition of the 10 percent excise duty on branded clothing. He said, “The input processes in apparel production are very complicated so it’s not very simple for international partners to understand customs policies and procedures. Once you open the doors for FDI, the investors look for single window clearances.

"Currently one has to through multiple levels of clearances, apart from which there are different committees. Once the government makes up its mind that, they want more people to come and invest in this country, they will have to look at simplifying the process”, he wrapped up this very informative interview by saying.

Source : Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

California Pizza Kitchen to expedite Indian expansion

California Pizza Kitchen Inc is trying to step up its growth plans in India with the second restaurant in Mumbai. The restaurant will be opened in association with its franchise partner JSMGGC India Pvt Ltd, a joint-venture between Mumbai-based JSM Corporation and Dubai-based Gourmet Gulf Company.

California Pizza Kitchen opened its first restaurant in India in 2009, after it entered into an agreement with this franchise partner to do business here.

Further, the company plans to open at least 15 restaurants in India over the next 10 years.

The Los Angeles-based chain opened the first Indian restaurant in the commercial district of Bandra Kurla Complex. This is a 4,000 square feet restaurant, seating 180 guests. The new restaurant will have the same square feet coverage but an increased seating capacity. It will be located in High Street Phoenix, Mumbai’s largest shopping and entertainment destination. Both restaurants are strategically positioned for driving traffic.

California Pizza Kitchen currently owns and operates 207 restaurants and franchises 59 restaurants. The company is widening its presence internationally. There are currently 34 restaurants located in China, Japan, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Mexico, South Korea, Guam, India, Indonesia and United Arab Emirates.

Overseas development in Mexico, Asia and the Middle East is also on the cards. But California Pizza Kitchen will have to brave tremendous competitive pressure in the markets it is eying for expansion.

South Africa's Shoprite to buy Metcash franchise unit

Africa's biggest grocer Shoprite has agreed to buy the franchise unit of unlisted South African rival Metcash Trading for an undisclosed amount, the two companies said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

Metcash's franchise unit operates supermarket chains such as Friendly, Seven Eleven and Price Club Discount across South Africa.

"The transaction will provide (Shoprite) with a further platform to grow its business and franchisees exponentially, both in numbers and in turnover," Shoprite deputy managing director Carel Goosen said in the statement.

Adolfo Dominguez steps into India

Spanish designer Adolfo Dominguez has launched his flagship store at the new Ambience Mall, in Vasant Vihar, Delhi. The brand has tied up with Wadhavan Lifestyle Retail, which brought American urban street wear brand Ed Hardy to India in 2008. Wadhavan has entered into an eight year deal for an exclusive master franchise agreement with Madrid-based Adolfo Dominguez and plans to invest around Rs 50 crore in the next five years to establish the brand in India, according to a media report.

With over 35 years of experience in about 37 countries, Adolfo’s entry on the Indian shores is seen as a stepping stone for bridging the gap between the luxury and the premium markets.

The brand’s creative director Tiziana Dominguez agrees that India was always on the cards, it was just a matter of when. They strongly believe that there is a huge scope for Indian retail market, to be a prominent contributor to the world economy.

Adolfo Dominguez is a vertically integrated company, a position that has enabled it to produce high-quality, fashion-oriented clothing at attractive price points. The designer has shops all over Spain and an extensive worldwide sales network, with points of sale in more than 20 countries.

The first Madrid and Barcelona Adolfo Domínguez stores opened in 1982, and in 1985 the designer presented his first women’s collection on the Paris catwalks. This marked the start of the firm’s international expansion, which has taken his collections all over Europe, Japan, America and South-East Asia.

Wendy's expanding in Philippines

Feb 25, 2011

Wendy’s/Arby’s Group Inc said a longtime franchisee in the Philippines, Wenphil Corp has agreed to build 44 more Wendy’s units in that nation over the next several years, bringing the total number of restaurants there to 75.

Wenphil has franchised Wendy’s in the Philippines since 1983, and the operator plans to expand for the first time beyond the capital city of Manila and surrounding areas by subfranchising.

“We’re delighted to renew our franchise relationship with Wendy’s, and we’re excited about the opportunity to further expand our business in the Philippine market through the innovative use of subfranchising,” Elizabeth Pardo-Orbeta, chairman of Wenphil, said in a statement Thursday.

Wendy’s currently has 340 stores outside North America, from a total system base of 6,600 restaurants. The Atlanta-based company stated during is its January investor conference that the brand has the potential for 8,000 international restaurants. Darrell van Ligten, president of Wendy’s/Arby’s International, noted Thursday that while the Wendy’s brand is only beginning an aggressive push for expansion abroad, franchisees have been active since 2009 in various markets, including North Africa and the Middle East, Singapore, Turkey, Russia, the Eastern Caribbean, and Argentina.

“We see great growth potential for the Wendy’s brand in the Philippines, where we are building on the relationship we have enjoyed for many years with Wenphil,” van Ligten said. “This is another example of our aggressive focus on ramping up restaurant development outside North America. … Our international presence would grow to almost 1,000 restaurants if all store commitments currently on the books were to be fulfilled. That number of commitments will increase as we layer on development deals for new markets currently under negotiation and expand agreements with existing franchisees.”

At its investor conference last month, Wendy’s detailed plans to increase its international system, which lags behind those of quick-service competitors Yum! Brands Inc., which holds more than 18,000 restaurants aboard, and McDonald’s Corp., which boasts a similar 18,000 locations overseas. Of Wendy’s 8,000-unit international potential, 30 per cent of projected openings would be targeted in China and Brazil, van Ligten noted then. Another 9 per cent of that capacity would be in Japan, a market Wendy’s exited in late 2009 with the closure of 75 stores.

Wendy’s/Arby’s Group also operates and franchises the 3,700-unit Arby’s brand, which it intends to divest.

Source- Franchise-Plus

Casual fashion brand Uniqlo plans to enter India soon

Feb 18, 2011

Fast Retailing’s Uniqlo chain of casual clothing aims to enter the Indian market “as soon as possible” to tap faster-growing economies to bolster sales, reports Bloomberg.

“We want to study details of the agreement between Japan and India right away,” Fast Retailing president Tadashi Yanai said in Tokyo on Thursday, referring to the trade accord that the two nations signed on Wednesday. “We want to enter India as soon as possible.”

Fast Retailing, Asia’s largest clothing chain, plans to expand the number of Uniqlo stores overseas in an effort to boost sales six-fold to 5 trillion yen ($60 billion) by 2020. Making Uniqlo’s 3,990 yen jeans available in India, where the government predicts economic growth of 8.6 per cent this year, may help Fast Retailing stem its slowest sales growth in more than seven years.

“The faster they open stores in India the better,” said Toshihiro Nagahama, chief economist at Dai-Ichi Life Research Institute in Tokyo. “It will give Uniqlo a head start to building its brand,” Nagahama added.

Separately, Uniqlo said that it aims to sell more than 10 million pairs of chino and cargo pants this spring and summer. Fast Retailing is returning its focus to functional wear after attempts to compete in trendy apparel with Inditex’s Zara and Hennes & Mauritz’’s H&M brands eroded sales growth.

Sales at Yamaguchi, Japan-based Fast Retailing gained 5 per cent in the second half ended August 31, the smallest increase since at least 2003, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

India and Japan signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement that will abolish tariffs on 94 per cent of trade over 10 years.

The accord gives companies in Japan greater access to India as China’s presence in the region increases.