Asrapport Dining Signs Franchise Agreement with Taco Bell Corp.

Asrapport Dining Co., Ltd  announced  that it has signed a franchise agreement with Taco Bell Corp. for restaurant openings in Japan.

Asrapport Dining is a publicly traded holding company which operates a food service franchise business with 429 restaurants throughout Japan including Japanese style “Izakaya” pub and barbecue restaurants. In signing this agreement, Asrapport Dining will become a franchisee of one of the largest global quick service restaurant (QSR) brands to operate “Taco Bell” restaurants in Japan.

“Our main business realm is dinner time pub style restaurants. We seek to increase the competitive strength of our portfolio and grow the number of our restaurants that frequented by customers throughout the entire day,” said Shusaku Higaki, Asrapport Dining CEO. “We believe that 'Taco Bell' holds strong growth potential and will enable us to create a new QSR category by cultivating the strong latent demand for Mexican inspired foods within Japan.”

Taco Bell Corp., a member of the Yum! Brands, Inc., currently operates more than 6,000 restaurants globally, and seeks to increase its restaurant numbers by 2,000 and 1,300 inside and outside of the United States by 2022 and 2023 respectively. They will cultivate market opportunities outside the U.S. to create a new growth model for Taco Bell and to fortify its global presence. Their global expansion strategy is focused upon Europe (UK, Poland), Asia (Korea, Japan and Thailand), Latin America (Chile, Peru) and India.

“We look forward to growing Taco Bell, which is one of the largest QSR chains in U.S. and globally, as part of their global expansion strategy. Furthermore, this development is an integral part of our own growth strategy,” said Higaki.

Asics starts India sales operations

Japanese sportswear major Asics will not renew its exclusive distribution pact with Reliance Retail and is setting up its own sales operations with plans to open up to 35 mono-brand stores in India to tap the growing market here.

The company that has been in India through distribution partnership since 2009 has launched its own wholesale operations under Asics India Pvt Ltd from this month to work with franchise partners.

“We have an exclusive distribution agreement with Reliance Retail (Footprint) which will be finished by end of March 2015,” Asics India Director Rajat Khurana said.

He said although the company would work with various trade partners directly “Reliance will be our preferred partner for retail operations in India.”

The company said: “The change is intended to bolster sales of Asics products in the country.”

Bullish on the Indian market, Khurana said: “First year’s sales target is Rs 28 crore. We aim to triple the sales in three years. Our plan is to open 30-35 mono-brand stores, mainly in metro cities through our franchise partners.”

In the first year, the company plans to open 4-5 mono-brand stores, he added.

Currently, the company has one such store in Kochi operated by Reliance Retail.

Commenting on Asics’ plans in India, Asics Asia Pacific Division Senior General Manager and Asics India Director Dae Chul Kim said: “India is a promising market and has a huge potential.

“We plan to expand our sales network and bolster marketing support for retail shops in order to establish Asics’ value and image as a true sport performance brand.”

Kim further said: “Running is the fastest growing category in sports in India. So, we will be focusing on popularising the sport…”

The company’s products, priced between Rs 5,000 and Rs 12,500, will compete with the likes of Nike and Adidas.

To promote its products, Asics has been sponsoring events like the Mumbai Marathon for which it is the official sponsor.

“We will build our brand image as true sport performance brand among consumers. We will directly reach to consumers through services such as running clinics.

“Also, we will increase brand exposure, seeking opportunities in cricket, the national sport,” Khurana added.