Pind Balluchi to open 20 more outlets this year

Known for its delectable Indian delicacies, Pind Balluchi is planning to open 20 more outlets this year. Currently, the brand has a total of 31 outlets and one international outlet in Singapore. The outlets are a mix of company owned and franchisee-run. Under the umbrella of J S Hospitality, the brand even looks to expand into foreign locations especially the Middle East.

JS Chadha, Chairman, Pind Balluchi informs: “Our group runs popular fine dining restaurant Park Balluchi and banquet hall Vatika Grand too. The Vatika group started its first restaurant and banquet in 1992 at Pragati Maidan. Park Balluchi, our flagship restaurant has been the winner of many national awards and now we want to grow further with new outlets across the country.”

Chadha further adds: “In the present scenario, when everybody is running after various global cuisines, we came up with an Indianised version because we believe it's permanent and not occasional like other foods.” 

Pind Balluchi’s vision is to be the benchmark by being the only Indian specialty dining destination; thereby, creating a wow experience for its patrons at all times. The cuisine at Pind Balluchi has an enormous variety of mouth-watering vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian dishes.  At each restaurant, ancient recipes that have faded from the memory of the world are rediscovered in the rare dining experience and the multifaceted identity of India is unified and preserved in its original form.

Taco bell rings its bell in Mumbai

America’s Mexican fast food restaurant chain, Taco Bell recently opened two more outlets in Mumbai. The outlets are located in Ghatkopar and Thane. Taco Bell is a part of Yum! Restaurants India which is a subsidiary of ‘Yum! Brands’. Internationally, Taco Bell has over 6000 stores in 16 countries including India. In India, Taco Bell has four outlets in Bangalore and now three in Mumbai. ‘Yum! Brands’ owns three of the leading restaurant brands worldwide – Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell.

Launched in India in 2010, Taco Bell serves Mexican fast food that is both craveable and packed with flavours. With absolutely new food formats and bold flavours, Taco Bell is a delight for consumers who want to experience some ‘food adventure’.

Unnat Varma, General Manager, Taco Bell & Pizza Hut, India said: “At Taco Bell, we serve fast food that is crunchy, cheesy and extremely flavourful. Our experience both in Bangalore and Mumbai has been fantastic with consumers thoroughly enjoying new food formats like Tacos, Chalupas and Quesadillas. Though our food has familiar ingredients but they are done very differently.”

Taco Bell menu boasts of items that are hot and cold, soft and crunchy, all at the same time - a true multi-sensorial food experience. 

US fitness chain Anytime Fitness to pump up Indian muscle with 100 gyms

US-based fitness chain Anytime Fitness is using the franchisee route to grow faster in the Indian market and aims to open 100 centres in three years.

Anytime Fitness wants to be a pan-India chain. “We see a long-term opportunity in the Indian market considering the low penetration levels. We find the Indian market very similar to what the US market was 15-20 years back,” John Kersh, vice president, Anytime Fitness Gym, said.

“We have grown from one centre in the US in 2002 to 2,000 centres in 50 states of the country. With a presence in 20 countries we look forward to having 4,000 to 4,200 centres by 2018 and India is an important market for us as the incidence of lifestyle diseases is higher in the country and the awareness about health is growing,” he said.

The penetration of fitness programmes in India is as low as 0.5 per cent in India, while it is six to seven per cent in Asia and 16 to 17 per cent in the US.

According to Kersh, franchising has worked well for the brand globally as the operating expenses are low in the model.

“A centre needs around 400 members to break even and most of them break even in about six months. The centres are easily accessible being located in residential areas and are open 19 hours a day. Before opening a centre, we enroll around 150 to 200 members and this too helps the centres break-even fast,’ said Vikas Jain, managing director, Anytime Fitness India.

The company will initially handhold the franchisee in order to find the location, set up the centre, source equipment, recruit and train the staff and to promote the brand. Apart from setting up new centres, the brand is also open to converting and upgrading its existing gyms. In India a majority of the fitness centres are in the unorganised sector.

Tata Group’s Mia to spread its shine via franchising

Tata Group's jewellery division, Tanishq, will open up to 25 standalone stores of its sub-brand 'Mia' by 2016. Mia was launched by Tanishq in 2011. Almost all stores will be franchisee run .Out of the 25 stand-alone stores; eight-nine stores will be opened in this fiscal year. Mia is targeted at working women. At present, there are three Mia stores in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Pune.

Sandeep Kulhalli, Senior Vice-President (Retail and Marketing) Jewellery Division, Tanishq, said: "While, Tanshiq will continue to sell Mia brand jewellery. Growth of business for Mia will come from standalone stores. We plan to open up to 25 standalone Mia stores by 2016. After initial years of support from Tanishq, we see opportunity in growing Mia brand via standalone stores.”

The Mia collection takes its inspiration from the unexplored finesse in the cross-sections of sliced luscious fruits. At the heart of every piece of Mia jewellery is the unrivalled lustre of fruits. An expression of modern luxury, each product forms an independent piece and tells its own little story. Colour stones like Mint Amethyst, Pink Amethyst, Lemon Topaz, Beer Quartz, Smoky Quartz and more were used to add diversity to the collection. 

JW Marriott to open new hotels in India & Greater China

Marriott International’s world-class luxury hotel brand, JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts, plans to open three properties in Greater China and one hotel in India by summer 2015 bringing the brand’s Asia-Pacific portfolio to 28 hotels and resorts with 11 in China and seven in India. By 2020, the global brand portfolio is expected to encompass 105 properties worldwide, 45 of which will be located in the Asia-Pacific region.

The four latest additions will include:  JW Marriott Hotel Chongqing, China, JW Marriott Hotel Shenzhen Bao'an, China, JW Marriott Hotel Macau, China and JW Marriott Hotel Mumbai Sahar, India. 

“The addition of these four hotels only continues to strengthen JW Marriott’s already strong presence in Asia. We are embarking on an exciting time for the brand and region, and have plans to expand into new markets including Chengdu, Xian, Guangzhou and Dalian in China, Kolkata in India, Jakarta in Indonesia and Phuket in Thailand,” said Simon Cooper, President and MD, Marriott International Asia Pacific.

Mitzi Gaskins, VP and Global Brand Manager, JW Marriott Hotels and Resorts said: “Asia is one of the fastest growing and most important regions for JW Marriott.  Since opening the JW Marriott Hong Kong in 1989, we have been committed to build striking hotels that promise beautiful design and a memorable guest experience. Currently 60 percent of our portfolio is located outside the U.S. and we are proud to say that by 2020, 45 of our anticipated 105 properties will be in Asia.”

Truefitt & Hill to open 75+ stores in five years

With a legacy of more than 208 years in the men’s grooming industry worldwide, Truefitt & Hill, the world’s oldest and luxurious barbershop is all set to unwrap its new store in the upcoming corporate hub of Mumbai. The latest store will be in the premium and luxurious Palladium Mall, at Lower Parel.

Truefitt and Hill successfully introduced a new level of indulgence for the metro-sexual man that makes them one-of-a-kind brand since its first store was established in Mumbai at Khar in May’14 followed by the opening of second store in Colaba in June 14. Krishna Gupta, Managing Director, Lloyds Luxuries Ltd says: “We are thrilled with the response we have received, and are very proud to announce the opening of our third barbershop. We are also due to open a fourth store in another posh locality of Mumbai as we enter the next year.”

Further elaborating on the expansion plans, Istayak Ansari, Director, Lloyds Luxuries Ltd also states, “We will end our first year of operations with four+ open and operating stores across premium localities of Mumbai. We intend to open multiple corporate owned stores in Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai and Pune next year. We have set a target to open 10+ corporate owned stores in the above territories. Our first store outside Mumbai will open in South Delhi. We have set a target to open 75+ stores over a period of five years of which 50+ will be corporate owned and the rest will be franchisee run. We intend to start franchising from next year onwards once we have set up operations in Delhi and Bangalore."

Canon opens 124th Image Square outlet

Canon, a digital imaging brand launched its 10th Canon Image Square (CIS) in Mumbai. Canon Image Squares are the brands exclusive outlets. The brand has so far opened 123 stores across 64 cities in the country. Canon’s service reach extends to over 3200 towns with 18 Canon camera service centres and 38 printer Canon Care Centres. This store in Virar, Mumbai, takes the total tally to 18th Canon Image Square in Maharashtra.

The company plans to expand its retail business by setting up exclusive Canon Image Square outlets across the country.  With the objective to reach closer to the customer and to develop an engaging relationship with existing as well as new customers, Canon Image Square is further expanding its presence in western part of India. All existing CIS stores in Mumbai are located in different catchment areas and are easily accessed by a wide cross section of customers for a world class experience.

The store will offer customers the latest Canon cameras, lenses and photography accessories such as camera bags, tripods, chargers etc., in addition to exciting printing products and solutions. Customers are provided complete experience of the products; they can take prints of photographs, directly from their smart phones, tablets, pen drives, memory cards or CD’s. Canon also offers free training for all DSLR camera buyers through the CIS stores.