Woodland to expand footprint via franchise model

Outdoor adventure brand Woodland India is working on a strong franchise store model to grow its presence in smaller cities and towns. It plans to expand into adventure sports gear through large format stores and is also looking to expand to newer international markets.

Woodland Managing Director Harkirat Singh said: “We believe we need to have a strong franchise model as we are looking to expand in more small cities and towns. We are testing the waters with franchise stores and already have about seven-eight of them in the pipeline.”

Singh said the company needs to build a system to ensure the experience across company-owned and franchise stores is consistent. At present, Woodland largely sells its products through company-owned, multi-brand and shop-n-shop stores. The company runs over 480 stores and is in the process of ramping it up by 50-60 stores this year.

Woodland, present across 20 countries, is next looking to expand in Slovakia, Russia, the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary.

The company marked its entry into China earlier this year. “In markets like China, we are taking our time and if those markets work out, they offer a huge potential,” said Singh. The company is now offering outdoor adventure gear, such as tents, kayaks and mountaineering products, and plans to open large format stores to stock these products. “Adventure sports were non-existent earlier, but now there is growth not only in metros but also in smaller towns. Consumers ask us for specialised backpacks, tents, sleeping bags, etc,” he said.

Since its stores in metros lack enough space, Woodland plans to open super-stores in the suburbs of key cities. For starters, it will have four such super-stores.

Woodland’s Innovation Labs have introduced new product design technologies based on feedback from professionals who work in harsh climates, Singh said.

These include ‘Superlight,’ ‘Heat Lock’ and ‘Storm Breaker’ technologies in jackets, especially meant for adventure sports enthusiasts.

The company said it has almost doubled its turnover over the past five years and touched the ₹1,000 crore-mark last fiscal. It expects this to grow to ₹1,300 crore by FY15.

Juice Lounge To Take Its Outlet Count To 100 In 2015

Juice Lounge, a health cafe and juice bar  has plans to take its outlet count from 50+ to around 100 by the next year. The brand aims to provide its patrons with great tasting nutritious juices, power juices, boosters, shakes, sandwiches, pastas, pizzas and more.

The brand was started in 2005 and is now present in four countries with 60+ cities. Juice Lounge is planning to open more than 50+ outlets in tier II and III cities. With great sales in tier II and III cities such as Karnal (Haryana) Moga, Mohali (Punjab) Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh), the market just seems to be right for the brand.

Manav Shital, Co- Founder, Juice Lounge says: “We have got great training and support programs for our franchisees which helps them to operate with ease. Recently, we opened our outlet at Ghaziabad and Tiruvannamalai and the response is overwhelming from both these outlets. We are following franchise route for faster expansion, sharing profits with franchisees.”

Juice Lounge takes great pride in maintaining utmost quality while creating and making their products. Juice Lounge offers its  customers with the best quality of juices and other eatables to gain their trust. Owned by Vertigo India Food & Beverages, Juice Lounge has also entered Doha and Maldives. Vertigo India Food & Beverages has done exclusive association with investors abroad to grow the brand ‘Juice Lounge’ in the Middle East and the Far East Asia.

PizzaExpress forays into Delhi NCR

PizzaExpress recently forayed into Delhi NCR with its first outlet at Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi. The brand presently has six outlets in Mumbai and Thane. Established in 1965 in London, PizzaExpress operates over 500 restaurants around the world in 14 different countries. The first outlet was launched in India in 2012, at Colaba in Mumbai, in partnership with Gourmet Investments, a company promoted by the Bharti Family Office. They are now planning to open another outlet in Gurgaon. Gourmet holds the exclusive master franchise rights for the PizzaExpress brand for India and South Asia including Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Maldives.

Talking about the launch, Sanjay Nandrajog, CEO, Atrium Restaurants India, which manages PizzaExpress in India, stated, “Our consumer research has shown that Delhi’s customers are looking for something new and unique in the casual dining sector as well as the Italian restaurant space, something that PizzaExpress could readily offer.” Atrium Restaurants India is a subsidiary of Gourmet Investments and a licensee of PizzaExpress.

Believing in serving authentic Italian pizza, Nandrajog said, “There is a vast difference between the ‘Americanised pizzas’ that are served by other brands here and the pizzas at PizzaExpress. However, based on our customer research and feedback, we have introduced certain food items to our menu to cater to the local tastes while retaining our authentic Italian focus like Apollo Pizza with tandoori chicken and Melanzane Piccante with Aubergines. PizzaExpress, UK is fully committed to helping us build the best western casual dining brand in India.”

Taco Bell Is Hungry for Global Expansion

Taco Bell is ready to serve up Waffle Tacos everywhere from Peru to India.

Taco Bell announced plans to add 1,300 new locations internationally by 2023 -- a significant increase from its current 250 locations overseas. The increase in international units would, by the company's estimates, generate an additional $2 billion in sales.

Growth will be focused in European, Asian and South American countries including the U.K., Korea, Japan, Chile, Peru and India.

The chain franchises 250 restaurants in 26 countries internationally -- notably less than its Yum Brands sister chains, KFC and Pizza Hut. KFC especially relies on international sales, with more than 4,600 restaurants in China making up about a third of total global KFC locations.

The international focus is part of Taco Bell's larger plan to become a $14 billion brand by 2022.  In addition to the influx of international locations, Taco Bell also plans to add 2,000 restaurants domestically. Right now, the chain has nearly 6,000 locations in the U.S., opening a record-setting 200 new restaurants domestically in 2014.

Taco Bell has celebrated a strong year keeping things domestic. Taco Bell reliably increased sales and maintained social media buzz throughout 2014. Now it's time to see if the success can continue overseas.  

Mother Dairy To Tap South India

Mother Dairy, one of the leading dairy major in the country is entering Chennai after test marketing its product in the southern market for almost two years. New Delhi based Mother Dairy will launch its products in Chennai within a month. The company is eyeing 15-20 per cent business from South Indian market and will enter in cities like Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

Sandeep Ghosh, Business Head (Milk, Mother Dairy Fruit and Vegetable), Mother Dairy Fruit and Vegetable Pvt Ltd says: “We are looking at Chennai market very closely. It offers a huge potential. In a month or so, we will launch products in Chennai. The company is growing at 20 per cent CAGR (Compounded Annual Growth Rate) and is eyeing Rs 10,000 crore businesses by 2017 and of that dairy business will be Rs 7,500 crore.”

The brand which is a subsidiary of National Dairy Development Board is also planning to expand its presence in the country. Mother Dairy is planning to set up 6,000 outlets in Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad in next six months.

GAS OPENS FLAGSHIP IN MUMBAI

Gas has recently opened a new flagship store in Mumbai, inside High Street Phoenix, one of the most significant shopping malls of the city and a location that gathers some of the best international fashion brands along with a wide selection of entertainment offers. The new concept store reinterprets some of the brand’s most iconic interior decor elements in a very innovative way.. 
  
Gas strongly believes in the importance to expand in India, a market whose economy is evolving fast and whose population is among the youngest globally. The new Mumbai flagship store adds up to the already existing 46 stores spread among the country’s major cities. Out of this, there are shop-in-shops based inside chain stores and department stores such as Shoppers Stop, Kapsons and Iconix, with 11 additional monobrand stores in Mumbai, Delhi, Ludhiana, Hyderabad, Chandigarth, Chennai, Thane, in addition to Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Pune and Delhi again, which opened throughout 2014. 
  
The presence of Gas in India is constantly expanding as the result of the master franchise agreement with the Indian group Reliance Brands Ltd, a solid and established company. Gas has found a partner with whom it can share common vision, strategies and targets for the future, while respecting values and identity. 
  
“For the next five years our common aim is to make Gas become a major player in the premium lifestyle market niche with a thorough distribution network and a strong reputation for our target – open-minded and cosmopolitan young professionals who are conscious about the latest trends and look for the best from international fashion for both their working occasions and leisure time,” commented Claudio Grotto, founder and president of Gas, while inaugurating the Mumbai store. 

IndiaOnline.In to Expand Its Business Via Franchisees

India’s online network, IndiaOnline.in has plans to expand its business network through 5,000 franchisees all over India. It is a one-stop shop for acquiring quality information about India and is a unique amalgamation of 350+ websites covering every state, city and town of India.

India Online Network has been in existence since the last five years and now it has brought a unique business opportunity for masses to join the Internet revolution in the country by partnering with them. IndiaOnline.in in its endeavour to create a network of more than 4,000 Business Associates from all over India, is inviting applications to join the network as Business Associate from each and every city and town of India. Smaller towns with less than two lakh population will have 1- 5 business associates per town or city while bigger cities will have multiple associates depending upon the size and population of the city.

Rahul Jalan, Director, Indiaonline.in says, “We take pride in expanding ourselves through the franchise route as we feel we will be creating a huge self-employment opportunity in every city and even the smallest of towns in India. By expanding our network, we wish to bring forward a unique business opportunity for anyone who joins our network as a Business Associate. We at India Online Network are striving hard to make India Online Network – a true synonym of the online information system India.”

Any-one who qualifies to become a Business Associate will have to pay a one-time very nominal non-refundable joining fee of Rs. 2000/- to 7000/- depending upon the city tier. It is a considerable and unique business and self employment opportunity for individuals, web designers, web marketing firms, cyber cafes, Aadvertising agencies, marketers, freelancers and even Students. The qualification needed to become the Business Associate is minimum 10+2 pass with reasonable knowledge of Internet with access to Internet connection.

The role of a Business Associate would be to promote and sell various paid membership, website and listing services among the businesses, industries and small businesses in their own city/town and also other local advertising options.