Sbarro hopeful of expanding their India footprint to 50 outlets by mid-2016

Sbarro, chain of Pizza restaurants popular for New York style Pizza internationally, has plans to expand their footprint from the current 15 outlets to more than 50 by middle of next year. Sbarro has opened their 15th outlet last week in Bandra in Mumbai. The international chain based in Columbus, Ohio in the US has three regional franchisees in India for North & East, West and Southern region. 

The international restaurant chain which currently has 1,000 odd stores in 44 countries is keen to expand their network in Asia in general, South East Asia in particular, and the Pacific region. Naresh Vinod Worlikar, Vice President -International Franchise Operations-Asia, Sbarro said that the focus currently is in establishing presence in countries like Malaysia, Myanmar, China, Korea, Australia, etc. Terming India as a potential market for Sbarro, Worlikar said that they are hopeful of adding 15 to 20 new outlets in India by the end of this year. 

As part of their expansion and maintaining the standards, Sbarro will be soon launching Training Centres, one each in a Franchisee region, in India. Worlikar said that one of the operational outlet will be designated as a Training Centre and people will be imparted six to eight weeks training at these centres. Currently, Sbarro has training facilities in the US and Philippines. 

Disclosing the business model, Worlikar said that Sbarro works with Master Franchisees in international markets. These franchisees could be for a country or for multiple countries, or for regions within a country. “These franchisees have the right to develop stores under their corporation or appoint sub-franchisees ,” he said.

Talking about the freedom to localize the recipes, Philippe Jore, Vice President – International Training & Culinary, Sbarro said that while formulations remained the same internationally, localization is permitted in terms of Pepperoni and use of flavours. “In India, considering the market sentiments, Chicken is used in place of Pork or Beef,” he said. “The differentiator for Sbarro is the fresh dough, fresh sauces, and 100% real mozzarella cheese. We are the only international Pizza brand which offer Pizza by Slice. Customer can order a full pizza or in slices,” he said.

Pizza chain Sbarro to add 20 outlets in India by 2016-end

US-based pizza chain Sbarro is planning to add 20 'New York style pizza' restaurants in north and east India in two years as part of expansion plans in the country.

The chain, which has around 900 Sbarro outlets in more than 40 countries, operates in northern and eastern parts of India through its master franchise Jyoti International Foods

"We plan to open 20 new restaurants by end of 2016 and will be investing up to Rs 30 crore for this," Jyoti International Foods Pvt Ltd Chief Executive Officer Akhil Puri said.

In the first phase of expansion, the company is primarily looking at areas in Delhi and NCR, followed by outlets in Punjab and Gujarat. We currently have two restaurants, Puri added.

"We plan to follow different type of models at different locations. In some places we will have flagship restaurants and in some we will have inline stores. We are also aiming to focus on opening home delivery stores," Puri said.

Speaking about the size of outlets he added: "The flagship outlets will have a space of around 2,000 sq feet. Inline outlets in malls would be between 1000 to 1,200 sq feet while in food courts and kiosks it will be between 400 to 600 sq feet."

As part of their agreement, Jyoti International Foods Pvt Ltd (JIFPL) pays development fees and royalty on revenues to Sbarro.

"We are also offering pizza-by-slice in our restaurants and it is very popular with our customers as they can order only a piece of pizza and not a full sized one and enjoy different flavours," Puri said.

Atulya Mittal to buy Pizza Corner

Pizza Corner operates 70 outlets across the four southern states and around 75 percent of Pizza Corner outlets are company owned, while the remaining were being operated under the franchise route.

Atulya Mittal, the Ispat industries scion is planning to buy Pizza Corner, India’s first pizza chain, stated a report in ET.

Atulya Mittal also runs Papa John's Pizza in India which has 20 outlets across the country.

Pizza Corner, owned by Bangkok-based billionaire Fred Mouawad, entered India in 1996.

The Pizza chain is part of Mouawad's Global Franchise Architects (GFA), which owns and operates other fast food brands in the country such as Donut Baker, Cream and Fudge, and Coffee World.

The discussions between Atulya and GFA were at an advanced stage, said sources close to the agreement. The deal may be structured as a merger of the Pizza Corner operations with Papa John's through a combination of cash payout and share swap, leaving Mouawad with an attractive monetizing plan.

Pizza Corner operates 70 outlets across the four southern states and around 75 percent of Pizza Corner outlets are company owned, while the remaining were being operated under the franchise route.

The Mittal family last year acquired Om Pizzas and Eats, a master franchisor of Papa John's in India, from TVS Capital, which continues to hold a minority stake.