Birth World to Launch Birth support services in Cochin
MedTree Health Care Pvt Ltd has announced Launch of its first Birth Support Services Center in Kochi and announces expansion of 25 centers across India in the first year of operations
Birth world is Launching a innovative range of maternity and infant care services that specializes in meeting the unique and ever-changing needs of Pregnant Women and infants .
Birth world services includes Birth spa which focus on Infant Massage Therapy and Birth academy for Child Birth education. It also provides other variety of pregnancy support services . It's like get together place for pregnant women, moms and babies, a place where they can relax and be pampered while simultaneously getting educated with the information and services they need. Birth world provides services for women still trying to get pregnant, and those in their postpartum months and offers almost everything a woman could need or want in respect to pregnancy. Birth World aims at making mothers - strong, competent, capable mothers and not only giving birth to babies.
"Birth world will be the first Centre in India to provide scientific Infant massage therapy in a organised approach, with highly qualified Physiotherapists and Clinical child development specialist" Said ,Dr.M.A.Babu ,Managing Director of Medtree Healthcare Pvt Ltd. The state of the art facility at Panampilly Nagar, Cochin will be opened during the first week of June '10
Speaking on the Benefits of Infant massage training, Chief Program officer ,Dr.Surya Subhashini said Infant massage emphasis on mom's loving touch and through touch, babies learn the comfort of loving and of being loved. Infant massage also Relaxes ,Enhances Bonding, Aids Growth and Development. Promotes Communication and Improves Baby's Sleep.
Birth World , Wholly owned subsidiary of Med Tree Healthcare pvt Ltd Promoted by a group of NRI Doctors and Businessmen will initially extend their services to Cochin and has plans to set up 25 centers in India in the first of year operation through franchising. "A large portion of the investment of a center will done by the franchisee." Typically, the investments required for setting up a center is 15 lacs." MedTree has worked mainly in concept development, setting the standards and creating a brand.
Notes to Editor
About Birth World
Birth world has Comfortable Birth support facility for child birth education, counseling and Infant massage therapy. Freedom to move about and a very personal touch with warm hearts and caring hands, you will receive personal care from our staff of skilled professionals who understand the physical, emotional and cultural needs of mom and baby. From the beginning of pregnancy through birth and postpartum, the choices are yours, as you work with our team to create your own unique childbirth experience. Childbirth is truly a family event so we support and encourage your family to play an active role in welcoming your baby.
Source:Cochin, Kerala, May 23, 2010 /India PRwire/
Tags: Birth World, MedTree Health Care Pvt Ltd, Birth Support Service Franchise, Maternity and Infant Care Services, Birth Spa, Healthcare franchise, Maternity Hospitals Franchise,
Monday, May 24, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
Privatising & Franchising Indian Education
It is difficult to ignore the spicing up that India’s education sector is undergoing. Ubiquitous private coaching centers, front-page ads inviting franchise expansion of schools, and landmark reforms allowing foreign universities to enter India all underscore the changing face of a sector that could best be characterized as lackluster just a few years ago, especially for private entrepreneurs and profit-mongers.
With India’s burgeoning middle-class, mouth-watering demographics and fast-changing government regulation, however, this once boring sector has managed to captivate the attention of capitalists from all corners of the world. From small-town tuition centers to globally renowned universities, from shrewd corporate pundits to leisurely housewives, and from private-equity suits to social-enterprise tweeds, the race to have some sort of stake in the growth of India’s education industry has become almost fashionable.
This year, in particular, has seen a massive inflow of capital and interest into the education sector, with Reliance Equity Advisors’ recent announcement to snap up a 1 billion rupee stake in Pathways Global School, a K-12 education provider; Azim Premji’s decision to invest 2 billion rupees in Manipal Global Education, a education resource provider; and Matrix Advisors’ decision to buy 1 billion rupees into FIIT-JEE, a private coaching provider.
Kapil Sibal, India’s education minister, too, gave an emphatic slap-on-the-back to the sector by comparing its future potential to that of India’s now red-hot telecom sector a decade ago.
While there is no denying the potential upside for investors in India’s education sector, it is worth considering the effect that massive entry of private capital into a traditionally not-for-profit sector can have on the Indian education sector as a whole and especially on parents, students and teachers.
First and foremost, the entry of a greater number of privately managed institutions will automatically translate into greater competition in the education sector, as more organizations compete for a limited number of students. Consequently, schools and colleges will no longer be able to rely on students filling their classrooms term after term, something that is common in high population-density areas with few private schools.
Instead, schools will have to lower fees, improve teaching quality, hire better teachers and use efficient technology as ways of distinguishing themselves from competitors and remaining operational. This is similar to what transpired in India’s telecom sector a few years ago, when private firms slashed costs, improved customer service and emphasized innovation to differentiate themselves from their competitors.
This operational model, which challenges the “recession-proof” tag that educational organizations in India have perpetually had associated with them, will transfer greater power to student and parents, for if a school cannot offer its students a cheaper and better educational experience than the school next door, it is most likely going to shut down.
Even for employees such as teachers, a greater sense of competition among educational organizations could spell better payment terms, training facilities and employment benefits. This is because the quality of teachers and education administrators will determine the success or failure of a school. Like it is for for-profit corporations, talent will be a rare resource and one which educational organizations are willing to invest in more intently.
Another benefit of the growing influence of private investments in the education sector is likely to be the bridging of the large gap dividing the resourceful private sector from the resource hungry education sector. As it stands today, education-focused organizations are largely cut-off from the talent, the innovation and the leadership that characterize for-profit companies in India.
Also, the potential for not just better principals or counselors but also for better education entrepreneurs—managers with an expertise in financial analysis and budgeting, strategy planning, human resources management and technology—is tremendous in India’s economy.
This vacuum in education management promises to be filled by private entrepreneurs who can utilize their business training and their vision for education reform more effectively. Corporate best practices like performance-based pay for teachers or inventory management of fixed assets like furniture or computers, which are everyday practices in educational organizations around the world, would also be better planned and implemented under guidance from the for-profit world.
There is only so much funding in India’s capital-starved economy that the government can provide to education ventures like schools and colleges. Eventually, like has been the case for power, infrastructure or telecommunications, financial support from the private sector will be crucial in leading the growth and progress of educational organizations in the country.
For this reason, the influx of greater capital into the sector should translate into its more comprehensive development and help convert the ‘education for all’ motto into reality. For instance, if public finances can target the development of rural education models and private funds can help growth in more urban areas, a greater number of educational institutes can become available for students.
The idea of private-sector investments in the education sector has its share of critics too and, often, for good reason. It can be argued that the private sector has little knowledge on the intricacies of the education sector as most private investors are neither trained in education management or non-profit work. Can such investors really improve the quality of education in India?
There is also the issue of the over-commercialization of education where profit-mongers ignore quality improvement and work on amassing more money. Finally, how easy is it for regulators to keep private institutes in check, ensure quality control and enforce policies?
Despite these drawbacks, the ability of students and parents to make independent decisions, discern education quality and aim for best quality per rupee spent should endear privately sourced investments to India. Also, there is no question that better training for teachers and education managers will have to take center-stage in efforts to improve quality and ensure policy enforcement.
In the end, the fact remains that for all the changes that private capital promises to bring into the education industry, perhaps the most challenging will be altering the age-old mindset of everyday citizens for whom education is simply a non-profit service, not a money-making business.
Tags:franchise expansion, entry foreign universities, tuition franchise, coaching franchise, Education Franchise, Training Franchise, English Franchise, India Education Sector,FIIT JEE,Manipal Education,
Source:Wall Street Journal,Mayank Maheshwari,Friday, May 21, 2010
With India’s burgeoning middle-class, mouth-watering demographics and fast-changing government regulation, however, this once boring sector has managed to captivate the attention of capitalists from all corners of the world. From small-town tuition centers to globally renowned universities, from shrewd corporate pundits to leisurely housewives, and from private-equity suits to social-enterprise tweeds, the race to have some sort of stake in the growth of India’s education industry has become almost fashionable.
This year, in particular, has seen a massive inflow of capital and interest into the education sector, with Reliance Equity Advisors’ recent announcement to snap up a 1 billion rupee stake in Pathways Global School, a K-12 education provider; Azim Premji’s decision to invest 2 billion rupees in Manipal Global Education, a education resource provider; and Matrix Advisors’ decision to buy 1 billion rupees into FIIT-JEE, a private coaching provider.
Kapil Sibal, India’s education minister, too, gave an emphatic slap-on-the-back to the sector by comparing its future potential to that of India’s now red-hot telecom sector a decade ago.
While there is no denying the potential upside for investors in India’s education sector, it is worth considering the effect that massive entry of private capital into a traditionally not-for-profit sector can have on the Indian education sector as a whole and especially on parents, students and teachers.
First and foremost, the entry of a greater number of privately managed institutions will automatically translate into greater competition in the education sector, as more organizations compete for a limited number of students. Consequently, schools and colleges will no longer be able to rely on students filling their classrooms term after term, something that is common in high population-density areas with few private schools.
Instead, schools will have to lower fees, improve teaching quality, hire better teachers and use efficient technology as ways of distinguishing themselves from competitors and remaining operational. This is similar to what transpired in India’s telecom sector a few years ago, when private firms slashed costs, improved customer service and emphasized innovation to differentiate themselves from their competitors.
This operational model, which challenges the “recession-proof” tag that educational organizations in India have perpetually had associated with them, will transfer greater power to student and parents, for if a school cannot offer its students a cheaper and better educational experience than the school next door, it is most likely going to shut down.
Even for employees such as teachers, a greater sense of competition among educational organizations could spell better payment terms, training facilities and employment benefits. This is because the quality of teachers and education administrators will determine the success or failure of a school. Like it is for for-profit corporations, talent will be a rare resource and one which educational organizations are willing to invest in more intently.
Another benefit of the growing influence of private investments in the education sector is likely to be the bridging of the large gap dividing the resourceful private sector from the resource hungry education sector. As it stands today, education-focused organizations are largely cut-off from the talent, the innovation and the leadership that characterize for-profit companies in India.
Also, the potential for not just better principals or counselors but also for better education entrepreneurs—managers with an expertise in financial analysis and budgeting, strategy planning, human resources management and technology—is tremendous in India’s economy.
This vacuum in education management promises to be filled by private entrepreneurs who can utilize their business training and their vision for education reform more effectively. Corporate best practices like performance-based pay for teachers or inventory management of fixed assets like furniture or computers, which are everyday practices in educational organizations around the world, would also be better planned and implemented under guidance from the for-profit world.
There is only so much funding in India’s capital-starved economy that the government can provide to education ventures like schools and colleges. Eventually, like has been the case for power, infrastructure or telecommunications, financial support from the private sector will be crucial in leading the growth and progress of educational organizations in the country.
For this reason, the influx of greater capital into the sector should translate into its more comprehensive development and help convert the ‘education for all’ motto into reality. For instance, if public finances can target the development of rural education models and private funds can help growth in more urban areas, a greater number of educational institutes can become available for students.
The idea of private-sector investments in the education sector has its share of critics too and, often, for good reason. It can be argued that the private sector has little knowledge on the intricacies of the education sector as most private investors are neither trained in education management or non-profit work. Can such investors really improve the quality of education in India?
There is also the issue of the over-commercialization of education where profit-mongers ignore quality improvement and work on amassing more money. Finally, how easy is it for regulators to keep private institutes in check, ensure quality control and enforce policies?
Despite these drawbacks, the ability of students and parents to make independent decisions, discern education quality and aim for best quality per rupee spent should endear privately sourced investments to India. Also, there is no question that better training for teachers and education managers will have to take center-stage in efforts to improve quality and ensure policy enforcement.
In the end, the fact remains that for all the changes that private capital promises to bring into the education industry, perhaps the most challenging will be altering the age-old mindset of everyday citizens for whom education is simply a non-profit service, not a money-making business.
Tags:franchise expansion, entry foreign universities, tuition franchise, coaching franchise, Education Franchise, Training Franchise, English Franchise, India Education Sector,FIIT JEE,Manipal Education,
Source:Wall Street Journal,Mayank Maheshwari,Friday, May 21, 2010
Jawed Habibs Opens His Hair Salon Franchise and Hair Training Academy In Thimpu, Bhutan.
Habib’s sets up shop in Thimphu
The renowned Indian hairstylist Habibs opens an academy/salon
21 May, 2010 - With beauty parlours mushrooming in the capital and other parts of the country, it wasn’t long before a franchisee of popular professional hair and beauty salons made an entry into the Bhutanese market.
Yesterday, the first such franchisee of Habib’s hair and beauty opened in the capital. Run by Tenzin Lhadon, 41, one of the first to be trained under trade ministry’s entrepreneurship promotion centre in 1998, the idea to start the franchise came with the intent to start a beauty and hair training academy.
Habib’s beauty and hair academy starts sessions from June and has already received 10 applications. The academy, with a trainer from India, will provide intensive, comprehensive and part time courses on hair styling and beauty. The courses are 24 weeks, 12 weeks comprehensive and 12 weeks part time. The fees are Nu 60,000 for the comprehensive course.
Specialised courses on film make-up, hair straightening and perming, among others, will also be provided.
Tenzin, who was previously running Tashi salon at Zangdopelri complex, said she had chosen Habib, because the franchise was renowned as one of the best in India. The new salon has six experienced and trained hair stylists and beauticians, and offers membership and student discounts.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, labour minister Lyonpo Dorji Wangdi said that the salon and the academy were in line with what the ministry was trying to achieve in terms of entrepreneurship development. He added that Bhutan’s vision was to become a knowledge based society with skilled people.
The minister however said that the academy in its operation should try and conform with the principles of GNH.
A refresher’s seminar was also organised for hairstylists and beauticians, who had come from different parts of the country. According to a participant, who runs a salon in the capital, Habib was not a threat, especially since it was high-end compared to her salon. “The prices are high and it makes it almost exclusive to the richer segment of society,” she said. “We have our own clientele and I’m sure we’ll be able to maintain that.”
The franchise pays 15 percent royalty and a Nu 100,000 yearly fee to the Habib franchise.
Jawed Habib, CEO of the company and renowned fashion hair stylist, who also attended the inauguration, said that there were 47 academies in India. He was also looking into expanding into other neighbouring south Asian countries.
On the controversy that another franchise already operated within two kilometres of each other, Jawed Habib said that, while the other woman had approached them first, there was no franchise agreement signed between them.
By Kinley Wangmo
Source:Jawed Habib Franchise, Hair Salon Franchise, Beauty Franchise, hair training academy,best india franchise,habib franchise,franchise agreement,Unisex Salon franchise,
The renowned Indian hairstylist Habibs opens an academy/salon
21 May, 2010 - With beauty parlours mushrooming in the capital and other parts of the country, it wasn’t long before a franchisee of popular professional hair and beauty salons made an entry into the Bhutanese market.
Yesterday, the first such franchisee of Habib’s hair and beauty opened in the capital. Run by Tenzin Lhadon, 41, one of the first to be trained under trade ministry’s entrepreneurship promotion centre in 1998, the idea to start the franchise came with the intent to start a beauty and hair training academy.
Habib’s beauty and hair academy starts sessions from June and has already received 10 applications. The academy, with a trainer from India, will provide intensive, comprehensive and part time courses on hair styling and beauty. The courses are 24 weeks, 12 weeks comprehensive and 12 weeks part time. The fees are Nu 60,000 for the comprehensive course.
Specialised courses on film make-up, hair straightening and perming, among others, will also be provided.
Tenzin, who was previously running Tashi salon at Zangdopelri complex, said she had chosen Habib, because the franchise was renowned as one of the best in India. The new salon has six experienced and trained hair stylists and beauticians, and offers membership and student discounts.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, labour minister Lyonpo Dorji Wangdi said that the salon and the academy were in line with what the ministry was trying to achieve in terms of entrepreneurship development. He added that Bhutan’s vision was to become a knowledge based society with skilled people.
The minister however said that the academy in its operation should try and conform with the principles of GNH.
A refresher’s seminar was also organised for hairstylists and beauticians, who had come from different parts of the country. According to a participant, who runs a salon in the capital, Habib was not a threat, especially since it was high-end compared to her salon. “The prices are high and it makes it almost exclusive to the richer segment of society,” she said. “We have our own clientele and I’m sure we’ll be able to maintain that.”
The franchise pays 15 percent royalty and a Nu 100,000 yearly fee to the Habib franchise.
Jawed Habib, CEO of the company and renowned fashion hair stylist, who also attended the inauguration, said that there were 47 academies in India. He was also looking into expanding into other neighbouring south Asian countries.
On the controversy that another franchise already operated within two kilometres of each other, Jawed Habib said that, while the other woman had approached them first, there was no franchise agreement signed between them.
By Kinley Wangmo
Source:Jawed Habib Franchise, Hair Salon Franchise, Beauty Franchise, hair training academy,best india franchise,habib franchise,franchise agreement,Unisex Salon franchise,
Thursday, May 20, 2010
The Kamaths Aspire To Take Natural Icecreams international
We plan to foray into overseas markets
The Kamath family hatched an ice cream business a quarter of a century ago in Mumbai. And, as the popularity shot, the store count went on increasing. Summer, the most demanding time of the year for this kind of a business has brought in with it scores of opportunities that the family is busy scooping! One of the finest frozen desserts available in the artisanal ice cream space—Natural ice creams has big expansion plans. Pravda Godbole spoke to Raghunandan Kamath, Founder, Kamaths Ourtimes Ice creams Pvt. Ltd., whose son Srinivas Kamath now heads the business development
How do you plan to structure your company?
We have big expansion plans and hence we are going to adopt complete ERP (enterprise resource planning) solutions to be able to turn our dream of expanding the business into a reality. Currently we have 72 outlets in 8 locations, and we plan to scale up to a 100 stores in yet to be explored territories like Kolkata, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Jaipur, Indore, Chennai and the like along with overseas expansion plans on the cards.
What kind of overseas presence are you looking at?
We have had many franchise inquiries from Europe. We will definitely consider it but before that we have plans for 2011 to enter countries closer home like Dubai, Mauritius, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. On the local front, we plan to grow from 72 outlets to a 100 by December 2010.
Will that require you to scale up your manufacturing?
The company recently invested Rs 25 crore in a new manufacturing unit in Mumbai and a food processing plant in Mangalore. While the factory's capacity is 12 tonne per day, it can be scaled up to 15 tonne per day. The manufacturing facility will take care of supply for the whole of national market. Activities like processing and pulping fruits and then storing them will be carried out in this facility which we opened last month.
What kind of new offerings will be introduced for this season?
We will soon launch a low fat kulfi—this will be our fourth offering apart from ice cream, milkshakes, and malai ice cream with fresh cut fruits. Innovation is the key here. People know us as an ice cream brand alright but we are looking at a multi market presence. Our factory is probably the biggest in Asia in this category of ice creams and we play with local flavours. For example, we plan to introduce beel a local fruit from Jaipur the way we serve jack fruit in Goa. These flavours are unique to their locations.
What is the current size of the company and what are your targets?
We hit Rs 30 crore in year ended March 2010. We target to close in to Rs 50 crore in the next financial year with an investment budget of Rs 3 crore in the next three years required for expansion plans and scaling up to meet the business demand that rises by close to 30 per cent in the summer season.
Tags:Natural Ice Cream, Natural Franchise, Ice Cream Franchise, Dessert Franchise, Raghunandan Kamath, Srinivas Kamath,ice cream business, kamaths outimes ice cream, gelato franchise,franchising ice cream,
Source:Business Standard Q&A: Raghunandan Kamath, Founder, Kamaths Ourtimes Ice creams
Pravda Godbole / Mumbai May 14, 2010, 0:52 IST
The Kamath family hatched an ice cream business a quarter of a century ago in Mumbai. And, as the popularity shot, the store count went on increasing. Summer, the most demanding time of the year for this kind of a business has brought in with it scores of opportunities that the family is busy scooping! One of the finest frozen desserts available in the artisanal ice cream space—Natural ice creams has big expansion plans. Pravda Godbole spoke to Raghunandan Kamath, Founder, Kamaths Ourtimes Ice creams Pvt. Ltd., whose son Srinivas Kamath now heads the business development
How do you plan to structure your company?
We have big expansion plans and hence we are going to adopt complete ERP (enterprise resource planning) solutions to be able to turn our dream of expanding the business into a reality. Currently we have 72 outlets in 8 locations, and we plan to scale up to a 100 stores in yet to be explored territories like Kolkata, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Jaipur, Indore, Chennai and the like along with overseas expansion plans on the cards.
What kind of overseas presence are you looking at?
We have had many franchise inquiries from Europe. We will definitely consider it but before that we have plans for 2011 to enter countries closer home like Dubai, Mauritius, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. On the local front, we plan to grow from 72 outlets to a 100 by December 2010.
Will that require you to scale up your manufacturing?
The company recently invested Rs 25 crore in a new manufacturing unit in Mumbai and a food processing plant in Mangalore. While the factory's capacity is 12 tonne per day, it can be scaled up to 15 tonne per day. The manufacturing facility will take care of supply for the whole of national market. Activities like processing and pulping fruits and then storing them will be carried out in this facility which we opened last month.
What kind of new offerings will be introduced for this season?
We will soon launch a low fat kulfi—this will be our fourth offering apart from ice cream, milkshakes, and malai ice cream with fresh cut fruits. Innovation is the key here. People know us as an ice cream brand alright but we are looking at a multi market presence. Our factory is probably the biggest in Asia in this category of ice creams and we play with local flavours. For example, we plan to introduce beel a local fruit from Jaipur the way we serve jack fruit in Goa. These flavours are unique to their locations.
What is the current size of the company and what are your targets?
We hit Rs 30 crore in year ended March 2010. We target to close in to Rs 50 crore in the next financial year with an investment budget of Rs 3 crore in the next three years required for expansion plans and scaling up to meet the business demand that rises by close to 30 per cent in the summer season.
Tags:Natural Ice Cream, Natural Franchise, Ice Cream Franchise, Dessert Franchise, Raghunandan Kamath, Srinivas Kamath,ice cream business, kamaths outimes ice cream, gelato franchise,franchising ice cream,
Source:Business Standard Q&A: Raghunandan Kamath, Founder, Kamaths Ourtimes Ice creams
Pravda Godbole / Mumbai May 14, 2010, 0:52 IST
The legendary Colaba Sheesha Cafe Restaurant 'Koyla' franchises out.
Koyla, the legendary open-air rooftop sheesha restaurant in Colaba has opened its second outlet in the city in Andheri. The original Koyla, which is situated near the Radio Club, opened in 2000. It was started by Farhan Azmi (28), who’s father Abu Asim runs the Gulf Hotel in the same building, Kamal Mansion. Aged 18, Azmi started running a canteen at his father’s hotel, offering room service to guests. “I thought that’s a good business. Why not do a small café on the terrace and see the response?
Although the restaurant opens at 7 pm, the staff at Koyla, Andheri, put on their starched uniforms an hour in advance and go about their daily chores. Arrangements are made to grill kebabs, which is the restaurant’s specialty. There is a general movement of pots and pans while we wait for the owners Farhan Azmi and Ayesha Takia to arrive. As soon as they do, Takia greets us with a warm smile. And Azmi—who owns the Colaba outlet of Koyla and both the branches of Café Basilico in Colaba and Bandra—makes it clear that this one’s a franchise outlet run by his family friend Hasan Gaffar and he is only a stake holder.
Inspired by the popularity of sheesha cafés in Dubai, where he had lived for a while, he started inviting friends to smoke sheesha on the roof terrace, sitting at plastic tables and chairs. Then, eight months later, at the end of 2000, he opened Koyla, an 18,000 square feet café seating 600 to 800 in thatched Goan-style canopies. “It was the first official place in India to serve flavoured sheesha,” he states. “At that time there were no CCDs, Mochas and Baristas and very few places to chill, apart from at the Irani cafes.”
Nevertheless, Takia, whose Bollywood career has taken a backseat after their marriage last year, and Azmi are very particular about this outlet, which opened a week ago. And that’s precisely the reason they took as many as 10-years to open the second outlet of Koyla in the city. “Before we start an outlet, we wanted to be sure that the other person involved is on the same wavelength and respects the brand as much as we do,” says Azmi. Takia, who is accompanied by her mom, seconds the thought. “Farhan is very picky about who he wants to do business with. And he wanted the new Koyla on a terrace just like the original one.”
Apart from the location, Azmi is happy with the neat décor of the new eatery. “The Colaba one is more rugged and rustic while this one has clean lines,” he says. The Colaba outlet started in early 2000 as a small hangout joint, with plastic chairs sponsored by Pepsi and a sigdi to make kebabs. “It was in October 2000 that we officially called it Koyla and worked towards building it up as a brand,” says the restaurateur-turned-politician.
The new branch, which has opened on New Link Road, Oshiwara, is smaller at 5,000 square feet, seating just 130 Situated on an open-roof terrace of a former office block, it is a franchise, being run by Hasan Gaffar, a family friend of Azmi. Franchise outlet It is Azmi’s second franchise experiment.
He had opened one in Hyderabad, but it closed down two years ago. “I know franchising has risks, but luckily I have found a guy I can trust. I can’t expand if I try to control everything,” he says. The new Koyla has a separate sheesha section, seating 30, which serves the Al-Fakher range of tobaccos, in the usual flavours of double apple, mint, and strawberry, as well as cappuccino.
Like the Colaba branch, it specialises in north Indian cuisine, such as Dum Pukht, and Murg Malai Kebab, cooked on coal by chefs from the Garhwal region. It too has hut-like canopies, bamboo chairs, lanterns. There is also a low seating area to give diners a feel of the traditional, Indian style of eating. Explaining why he didn’t expand earlier, he says: “I didn’t have the funds, and for several years the rents were ridiculous.
Also, in the interim I opened Café Basilico in Colaba and Bandra.” He admits he spent three years looking for the venue. “It’s not perfect, but it’s the best I could find. I couldn’t hold off expanding just because I was waiting for a location.” He adds he chose Andheri as the middle classes living there now have higher disposable incomes and eat out more frequently.
“Most big companies have shifted out of town and many of our customers in Colaba travel from Andheri. New Link Road is where it is all happening.” He is also planning to start a brand new chain, Chai and Coffee, and to open up a third Café Basilico in Andheri.
Koyla occupies a special place in the lives of Takia and Azmi. The 24-year-old actress met Azmi for the first time at Koyla. They started dating soon after. “Years later, he even found my comment card which said, ‘Fabulous food, fabulous ambience’,” she smiles. Azmi calls Koyla a place for “happy relationships”. “There are so many people who started dating there and now come back with kids,” he says. The 28-year-old plans to open the next franchise outlet in Delhi by this year end.
Although the couple are major foodies, they don’t consider themselves good cooks. “I can’t cook to save my life,” laughs Takia. But her doting husband is quick to praise her culinary skills. “She does a mixing of dahi and mirchi which is very good. But then, there are people to cook. So I don’t expect her to be in the kitchen.” This statement makes Takia blush endlessly.
The proud husband reveals that Takia will soon be launching her lone venture Chai Cofi in Yari Road. “She has the capability to become a great business person and she always has brilliant inputs,” says the restaurateur. Takia is all smiles and states that owning a café had always been her dream and this one will be a perfect setting with varieties of tea, coffee and accompaniments like kheema pav, vada pav, brun maska, khari, toast and nankhatai. But Azmi has one complaint. “For five years, I was praying that we would get married and I would be spared of driving to Ayesha’s home in Yari Road. But now she is going to set up a restaurant there.” But Takia insists that Andheri is buzzing and most of her industry crowd is there.
However, the couple’s most ambitious venture is the Basilico House in Candolim, Goa. “This was something that we planned three years ago. This year, we were fortunate to find a 200-year-old Portuguese villa. The property should be ready by next January
Tags:best franchise mumbai, Franchise In Mumbai, franchising in mumbai, koyla, Mumbai Cafe Franchise, Mumbai Franchising, Sheesha franchise mumbai, top mumbai franchises, mocha franchise,chai cofe
Source: Naomi Canton , Hindustan Times, Mumbai, May 13, 2010
Priyanka Pereira,Expressindia, Gourmet Couple,May 18, 2010
Although the restaurant opens at 7 pm, the staff at Koyla, Andheri, put on their starched uniforms an hour in advance and go about their daily chores. Arrangements are made to grill kebabs, which is the restaurant’s specialty. There is a general movement of pots and pans while we wait for the owners Farhan Azmi and Ayesha Takia to arrive. As soon as they do, Takia greets us with a warm smile. And Azmi—who owns the Colaba outlet of Koyla and both the branches of Café Basilico in Colaba and Bandra—makes it clear that this one’s a franchise outlet run by his family friend Hasan Gaffar and he is only a stake holder.
Inspired by the popularity of sheesha cafés in Dubai, where he had lived for a while, he started inviting friends to smoke sheesha on the roof terrace, sitting at plastic tables and chairs. Then, eight months later, at the end of 2000, he opened Koyla, an 18,000 square feet café seating 600 to 800 in thatched Goan-style canopies. “It was the first official place in India to serve flavoured sheesha,” he states. “At that time there were no CCDs, Mochas and Baristas and very few places to chill, apart from at the Irani cafes.”
Nevertheless, Takia, whose Bollywood career has taken a backseat after their marriage last year, and Azmi are very particular about this outlet, which opened a week ago. And that’s precisely the reason they took as many as 10-years to open the second outlet of Koyla in the city. “Before we start an outlet, we wanted to be sure that the other person involved is on the same wavelength and respects the brand as much as we do,” says Azmi. Takia, who is accompanied by her mom, seconds the thought. “Farhan is very picky about who he wants to do business with. And he wanted the new Koyla on a terrace just like the original one.”
Apart from the location, Azmi is happy with the neat décor of the new eatery. “The Colaba one is more rugged and rustic while this one has clean lines,” he says. The Colaba outlet started in early 2000 as a small hangout joint, with plastic chairs sponsored by Pepsi and a sigdi to make kebabs. “It was in October 2000 that we officially called it Koyla and worked towards building it up as a brand,” says the restaurateur-turned-politician.
The new branch, which has opened on New Link Road, Oshiwara, is smaller at 5,000 square feet, seating just 130 Situated on an open-roof terrace of a former office block, it is a franchise, being run by Hasan Gaffar, a family friend of Azmi. Franchise outlet It is Azmi’s second franchise experiment.
He had opened one in Hyderabad, but it closed down two years ago. “I know franchising has risks, but luckily I have found a guy I can trust. I can’t expand if I try to control everything,” he says. The new Koyla has a separate sheesha section, seating 30, which serves the Al-Fakher range of tobaccos, in the usual flavours of double apple, mint, and strawberry, as well as cappuccino.
Like the Colaba branch, it specialises in north Indian cuisine, such as Dum Pukht, and Murg Malai Kebab, cooked on coal by chefs from the Garhwal region. It too has hut-like canopies, bamboo chairs, lanterns. There is also a low seating area to give diners a feel of the traditional, Indian style of eating. Explaining why he didn’t expand earlier, he says: “I didn’t have the funds, and for several years the rents were ridiculous.
Also, in the interim I opened Café Basilico in Colaba and Bandra.” He admits he spent three years looking for the venue. “It’s not perfect, but it’s the best I could find. I couldn’t hold off expanding just because I was waiting for a location.” He adds he chose Andheri as the middle classes living there now have higher disposable incomes and eat out more frequently.
“Most big companies have shifted out of town and many of our customers in Colaba travel from Andheri. New Link Road is where it is all happening.” He is also planning to start a brand new chain, Chai and Coffee, and to open up a third Café Basilico in Andheri.
Koyla occupies a special place in the lives of Takia and Azmi. The 24-year-old actress met Azmi for the first time at Koyla. They started dating soon after. “Years later, he even found my comment card which said, ‘Fabulous food, fabulous ambience’,” she smiles. Azmi calls Koyla a place for “happy relationships”. “There are so many people who started dating there and now come back with kids,” he says. The 28-year-old plans to open the next franchise outlet in Delhi by this year end.
Although the couple are major foodies, they don’t consider themselves good cooks. “I can’t cook to save my life,” laughs Takia. But her doting husband is quick to praise her culinary skills. “She does a mixing of dahi and mirchi which is very good. But then, there are people to cook. So I don’t expect her to be in the kitchen.” This statement makes Takia blush endlessly.
The proud husband reveals that Takia will soon be launching her lone venture Chai Cofi in Yari Road. “She has the capability to become a great business person and she always has brilliant inputs,” says the restaurateur. Takia is all smiles and states that owning a café had always been her dream and this one will be a perfect setting with varieties of tea, coffee and accompaniments like kheema pav, vada pav, brun maska, khari, toast and nankhatai. But Azmi has one complaint. “For five years, I was praying that we would get married and I would be spared of driving to Ayesha’s home in Yari Road. But now she is going to set up a restaurant there.” But Takia insists that Andheri is buzzing and most of her industry crowd is there.
However, the couple’s most ambitious venture is the Basilico House in Candolim, Goa. “This was something that we planned three years ago. This year, we were fortunate to find a 200-year-old Portuguese villa. The property should be ready by next January
Tags:best franchise mumbai, Franchise In Mumbai, franchising in mumbai, koyla, Mumbai Cafe Franchise, Mumbai Franchising, Sheesha franchise mumbai, top mumbai franchises, mocha franchise,chai cofe
Source: Naomi Canton , Hindustan Times, Mumbai, May 13, 2010
Priyanka Pereira,Expressindia, Gourmet Couple,May 18, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Growth Of The India Fast Food Industry and The Opportunities it offers.
Ajay Kaul is hungry for time. The 45-year-old CEO of Jubilant FoodWorks, the master franchise for Domino's Pizza in India, looks constantly at his watch, the ticking minutes whetting his appetite. And it figures: Kaul's pizzas have to reach customers in 30 minutes and he wants to open more than 60 new outlets every year.
As he launched Jubilant's 300th outlet in Delhi's Pitampura last month, Patrick Doyle, the global CEO of Domino's Pizza Inc, said, "Our teams in India and Louisiana, USA, are two of the largest and best franchisees." At a growth rate of nearly 42 per cent for the last five years, the company's India operations are its fastest in the world.
Doyle's and Kaul's appetite for India is shared by competitors. Whether it is multinational chains like McDonald's, Pizza Hut, KFC or homegrown ones like Sagar Ratna, Yo! China, Haldiram's, Bikanervala or Nirula's, they are all racing to open new restaurants. McDonald's, which had 20 outlets in India till 2002, has 187 today. It plans to open 200 more over five years with an investment of Rs 500 crore. Yum! Restaurants, owner of the KFC and Pizza Hut brands, plans to add 15 and 20 outlets respectively.
The story is repeated across the road with Nirula's looking to add 120 new points of presence, Sagar Ratna 35 new outlets by December and Delhi-based Bikanervala and Haldiram's four-five new outlets every year. Even traditional entities like the Bangalore-based MTR Restaurant and the Chennai-based Murugan Idli Shop (MIS) are looking at Delhi and Mumbai, "for the first time in 80 years", according to Hemamalini Maiya, managing partner, MTR Restaurants.
The temptation was just too hard to resist. Maiya says expanding beyond Bangalore is something her late father (who started the restaurant) would never have approved of, but that makes clear business sense. After all, says Gaurav Marya, president, Franchise India, "India is the biggest consumption market in the world." Even chains like Dunkin' Donuts, Popeyes Chicken, Pizza & Co, Swensen's and Burger King are in talks with local partners to enter India.
The eating out market is on an upswing. The rising number of working women and nuclear households, and an increase in general affluence have led to higher discretionary spending on food. According to the Food Franchising Report 2009, 30 per cent of working singles eat out at least once a month, with a majority spending at least Rs 101-150 per outing. Urban Indians now have a repast outdoor six times a month compared to 2.7 times in 2003. Retail consultancy Tech-nopak Advisors says the spend on eating out at 11 per cent is second only to groceries for Indian households.
Even investors are turning to fast food companies. Jubilant FoodWorks' successful IPO in January, where it raised Rs 329 crore, was oversubscribed 31 times. In March, Cafe Coffee Day raised over $200 million (Rs 920 crore) from three private equity funds. "These are very sizeable investments," says Raghav Gupta, president, Technopak Advisors, "and reflect a sense of confidence."
Growth isn't the only change in the food business. The shift from unorganised or street food towards a cleaner, more hygienic environment is one, even as the proliferation of stalls selling steamed corn, doughnuts and even sushi across malls, along with the success of South Indian cuisine in Delhi and butter chicken in the South shows that Indians are willing to experiment. "Even in Chennai, 40 per cent of my customers are north Indians," says S. Manoharan, proprietor, MIS. He plans to have a franchise outlet in Delhi in the next one year.
In the 90s, global fast food firms placed their bets on India, hoping to hook locals on Western food. Yum! entered India with KFC in Bangalore in 1995, but got mired in controversy. Having put that behind, the company worked towards expanding its base and today owns over 60 outlets. KFC has also tailored some dishes for Indian tastes. There's chicken tikka masala pizza, zinger burger, chana crunch snacker, veg pulao and makhni curry, and the recently launched nimbu crushers.
"One of the biggest questions is whether restaurants can localise as every region of India has a different taste," says B. Narayanaswamy, president, Ipsos Indica Research. Selling ethnic food on a national scale hasn't been easy in a country historically used to a variety of dishes. However, localising is not only about the palate, but also about pricing. "Value is a big point," says Gupta. "Compared to a basic burger, if you get say a thali for Rs 50, people will opt for that." To counter that, Domino's re-launched its 'Pizza Mania' offer, serving pizzas at Rs 35.
Clearly, India is not all about pizza and burgers. Ethnic Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) chains too have a huge following. However, unlike their Western counterparts, home grown chains have largely been restricted to specific regions. Haldiram's, for instance, is planning to expand first in and around the NCR region. "That itself can absorb 10-15 more restaurants. Later we will look at Amritsar, Ludhiana and Chandigarh, areas we are familiar with," says A.K. Tyagi, president of its FMCG business.
Going national isn't easy. "All McDonald's burgers taste the same. How many restaurants can do that with a thali" says Gupta. The issue is one of "huge logistics", says Maiya, who has just hired a food technologist. For instance, making dosa batter and preserving it is a huge challenge. Moreover, raw materials are usually procured from one source, over generations. MTR procures its rice from a particular shop. To change that for Delhi or Mumbai would mean changing the entire methodology, as the different rice would taste different.
"Many of my customers have breakfast in Chennai and supper in Singapore," says Manoharan, "they expect the same taste everywhere."
While MNCs have professionalised their back-end through centralised commissaries, where food is merely assembled, Sandeep Kohli, founder of NCR-based Orange Hara chain of restaurants, says that the back-end of many restaurants is primitive, almost like a "big halwai shop". Instead, the food business should be technology- and process-driven. Even family-run chains are now waking up to 'heat and eat'.
But all that belongs to the first phase of establishing the brand and looking at growth. Today, most food brands have moved into phase II, which is penetration. Phase III is marked by the saturation point, where companies may need to overhaul menus, at least partially, and innovate. Much of the second phase growth will come from tier II and III cities where eating out is still an occasion.
Says Vikram Bakshi, MD, McDonald's India and franchisee for the North and East regions, "We don't plan to tweak our menu too much. Now we will grow to new areas and increase our concentration in areas where we are less spread." The response from tier II and III cities is overwhelming. Last year the company opened an outlet in Amritsar. Consultants said it was a city which loved Punjabi food, so the company opted for a smaller, 100-cover set-up. Six months later, Bakshi feels a second restaurant is needed.
The other thing is catching 'em young. Fast food chains are targeting consumers early so that they stay for 15-20 years. Ask Panipat's Nidhi and Uday Nath. Earlier they would eat out at the local sit-down restaurants over weekends, the few entertainment options available in the city. Today their choice of dining is largely driven by their five-year-old daughter Tara. So the couple ends up giving in to what has become a near-standard experience among parents world over: McDonald's.
"The children like it, so we end up coming here at least once a week," says Nidhi. "This is a generation that has grown up on McDonald's," says Purnendu Kumar, associate vice president, Technopak Advisors. But that too reflects the lifestyle changes that have taken place over the last decade.
That may not always translate into numbers for the companies. For instance, three years have passed since the opening of the first McDonald's outlet at Panipat, which was something of a mini cultural spectacle where families lined up to have their pictures taken with Ronald McDonald, but the outlet itself is a laggard in terms of sales.
Bakshi has an explanation for that. Indians eat out far less frequently than other nationals. "Even in urban homes, eating out is seen as an occasion or an indulgence," he says. Compared to this, countries in South Asia have always had the concept of eating out, either at restaurants or pavement stalls. In Bangkok, people eat out an average 44 times a month, while in Jakarta the frequency is 14-15 times. However, with that changing, companies are more bullish. Says Kaul, "While China had been growing at 5-10 stores a year, the explosion of growth in India is far more recent. In the next five-seven years, we will take our count from 296 to 700 stores."
With changing lifestyles of young Indians, also comes another opportunity for growth. Catching the consumers where they are. This means the growth of travel retail. After malls, fast food eateries are targeting airports, highways, railway stations, corporate parks, clubs, fuel stations, etc. "With limited time, customers need to be tapped wherever they go," says Niren Choudhary, MD, Yum! Restaurants India. The company has set up express delivery counters at airports. Even Sagar Ratna is exploring an express model by next year, says CFO K.S. Suresh. "Currently two people spend an average 30 minutes in the restaurant. This will reduce the time to 12 minutes approximately." Home delivery is another big area, growing at 15-20 per cent.
But the fast food retail industry is faced with many hurdles, too. The main pain point is the high cost of real estate. Add to that rising input costs; companies claim their margins are getting squeezed. While the global standard is 10-15 per cent of sales as rentals, in India it goes as high as 20-25 per cent. Says Narayanaswamy, "QSRs follow a revolving door concept, which is come, buy and leave. But India has more of a dine-in culture, which adds to the real estate costs." Kaul says that most of the new Domino's outlets, especially in tier II and III cities, come with a dining area.
"It's a business of patience, not one of making money," says Shyam Sunder Aggarwal, MD, Bikanervala. When that is perfected, there are changing customer preferences to deal with. As consumers taste global cuisine, they want the real thing here. Ask Ashish Kapur, founder of Yo! China. Before Yo! came along in 2003, no one had been successful at doing a fast food Chinese restaurant. Changing tastes and dipping footfalls, however, forced them to change their look and feel, which is a more upscale casual dining kind of restaurant.
"Seven years ago we were serving dimsums and combos," he says, "today it is more khau suey (ingredients served separately) and sizzlers and claypots that people want." Having changed helped. Today their footfalls are up 35 per cent. Kapur also something else going for him: a bit of diversity. Needless to say, customers are 'lovin' it'.
Tags:Fast Food Franchise, Fast Food Franchise,Restaurant Franchise, McDonalds, Haldirams, Bikanervala,Nirulas,Sagar Ratna, Dominos,Yo China,Murugan Idli Shop,MTR, Donkin Donuts,Popeyes,Burger King,Food Franchising,
Source:India Today, Nandini Vaish.
As he launched Jubilant's 300th outlet in Delhi's Pitampura last month, Patrick Doyle, the global CEO of Domino's Pizza Inc, said, "Our teams in India and Louisiana, USA, are two of the largest and best franchisees." At a growth rate of nearly 42 per cent for the last five years, the company's India operations are its fastest in the world.
Doyle's and Kaul's appetite for India is shared by competitors. Whether it is multinational chains like McDonald's, Pizza Hut, KFC or homegrown ones like Sagar Ratna, Yo! China, Haldiram's, Bikanervala or Nirula's, they are all racing to open new restaurants. McDonald's, which had 20 outlets in India till 2002, has 187 today. It plans to open 200 more over five years with an investment of Rs 500 crore. Yum! Restaurants, owner of the KFC and Pizza Hut brands, plans to add 15 and 20 outlets respectively.
The story is repeated across the road with Nirula's looking to add 120 new points of presence, Sagar Ratna 35 new outlets by December and Delhi-based Bikanervala and Haldiram's four-five new outlets every year. Even traditional entities like the Bangalore-based MTR Restaurant and the Chennai-based Murugan Idli Shop (MIS) are looking at Delhi and Mumbai, "for the first time in 80 years", according to Hemamalini Maiya, managing partner, MTR Restaurants.
The temptation was just too hard to resist. Maiya says expanding beyond Bangalore is something her late father (who started the restaurant) would never have approved of, but that makes clear business sense. After all, says Gaurav Marya, president, Franchise India, "India is the biggest consumption market in the world." Even chains like Dunkin' Donuts, Popeyes Chicken, Pizza & Co, Swensen's and Burger King are in talks with local partners to enter India.
The eating out market is on an upswing. The rising number of working women and nuclear households, and an increase in general affluence have led to higher discretionary spending on food. According to the Food Franchising Report 2009, 30 per cent of working singles eat out at least once a month, with a majority spending at least Rs 101-150 per outing. Urban Indians now have a repast outdoor six times a month compared to 2.7 times in 2003. Retail consultancy Tech-nopak Advisors says the spend on eating out at 11 per cent is second only to groceries for Indian households.
Even investors are turning to fast food companies. Jubilant FoodWorks' successful IPO in January, where it raised Rs 329 crore, was oversubscribed 31 times. In March, Cafe Coffee Day raised over $200 million (Rs 920 crore) from three private equity funds. "These are very sizeable investments," says Raghav Gupta, president, Technopak Advisors, "and reflect a sense of confidence."
Growth isn't the only change in the food business. The shift from unorganised or street food towards a cleaner, more hygienic environment is one, even as the proliferation of stalls selling steamed corn, doughnuts and even sushi across malls, along with the success of South Indian cuisine in Delhi and butter chicken in the South shows that Indians are willing to experiment. "Even in Chennai, 40 per cent of my customers are north Indians," says S. Manoharan, proprietor, MIS. He plans to have a franchise outlet in Delhi in the next one year.
In the 90s, global fast food firms placed their bets on India, hoping to hook locals on Western food. Yum! entered India with KFC in Bangalore in 1995, but got mired in controversy. Having put that behind, the company worked towards expanding its base and today owns over 60 outlets. KFC has also tailored some dishes for Indian tastes. There's chicken tikka masala pizza, zinger burger, chana crunch snacker, veg pulao and makhni curry, and the recently launched nimbu crushers.
"One of the biggest questions is whether restaurants can localise as every region of India has a different taste," says B. Narayanaswamy, president, Ipsos Indica Research. Selling ethnic food on a national scale hasn't been easy in a country historically used to a variety of dishes. However, localising is not only about the palate, but also about pricing. "Value is a big point," says Gupta. "Compared to a basic burger, if you get say a thali for Rs 50, people will opt for that." To counter that, Domino's re-launched its 'Pizza Mania' offer, serving pizzas at Rs 35.
Clearly, India is not all about pizza and burgers. Ethnic Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) chains too have a huge following. However, unlike their Western counterparts, home grown chains have largely been restricted to specific regions. Haldiram's, for instance, is planning to expand first in and around the NCR region. "That itself can absorb 10-15 more restaurants. Later we will look at Amritsar, Ludhiana and Chandigarh, areas we are familiar with," says A.K. Tyagi, president of its FMCG business.
Going national isn't easy. "All McDonald's burgers taste the same. How many restaurants can do that with a thali" says Gupta. The issue is one of "huge logistics", says Maiya, who has just hired a food technologist. For instance, making dosa batter and preserving it is a huge challenge. Moreover, raw materials are usually procured from one source, over generations. MTR procures its rice from a particular shop. To change that for Delhi or Mumbai would mean changing the entire methodology, as the different rice would taste different.
"Many of my customers have breakfast in Chennai and supper in Singapore," says Manoharan, "they expect the same taste everywhere."
While MNCs have professionalised their back-end through centralised commissaries, where food is merely assembled, Sandeep Kohli, founder of NCR-based Orange Hara chain of restaurants, says that the back-end of many restaurants is primitive, almost like a "big halwai shop". Instead, the food business should be technology- and process-driven. Even family-run chains are now waking up to 'heat and eat'.
But all that belongs to the first phase of establishing the brand and looking at growth. Today, most food brands have moved into phase II, which is penetration. Phase III is marked by the saturation point, where companies may need to overhaul menus, at least partially, and innovate. Much of the second phase growth will come from tier II and III cities where eating out is still an occasion.
Says Vikram Bakshi, MD, McDonald's India and franchisee for the North and East regions, "We don't plan to tweak our menu too much. Now we will grow to new areas and increase our concentration in areas where we are less spread." The response from tier II and III cities is overwhelming. Last year the company opened an outlet in Amritsar. Consultants said it was a city which loved Punjabi food, so the company opted for a smaller, 100-cover set-up. Six months later, Bakshi feels a second restaurant is needed.
The other thing is catching 'em young. Fast food chains are targeting consumers early so that they stay for 15-20 years. Ask Panipat's Nidhi and Uday Nath. Earlier they would eat out at the local sit-down restaurants over weekends, the few entertainment options available in the city. Today their choice of dining is largely driven by their five-year-old daughter Tara. So the couple ends up giving in to what has become a near-standard experience among parents world over: McDonald's.
"The children like it, so we end up coming here at least once a week," says Nidhi. "This is a generation that has grown up on McDonald's," says Purnendu Kumar, associate vice president, Technopak Advisors. But that too reflects the lifestyle changes that have taken place over the last decade.
That may not always translate into numbers for the companies. For instance, three years have passed since the opening of the first McDonald's outlet at Panipat, which was something of a mini cultural spectacle where families lined up to have their pictures taken with Ronald McDonald, but the outlet itself is a laggard in terms of sales.
Bakshi has an explanation for that. Indians eat out far less frequently than other nationals. "Even in urban homes, eating out is seen as an occasion or an indulgence," he says. Compared to this, countries in South Asia have always had the concept of eating out, either at restaurants or pavement stalls. In Bangkok, people eat out an average 44 times a month, while in Jakarta the frequency is 14-15 times. However, with that changing, companies are more bullish. Says Kaul, "While China had been growing at 5-10 stores a year, the explosion of growth in India is far more recent. In the next five-seven years, we will take our count from 296 to 700 stores."
With changing lifestyles of young Indians, also comes another opportunity for growth. Catching the consumers where they are. This means the growth of travel retail. After malls, fast food eateries are targeting airports, highways, railway stations, corporate parks, clubs, fuel stations, etc. "With limited time, customers need to be tapped wherever they go," says Niren Choudhary, MD, Yum! Restaurants India. The company has set up express delivery counters at airports. Even Sagar Ratna is exploring an express model by next year, says CFO K.S. Suresh. "Currently two people spend an average 30 minutes in the restaurant. This will reduce the time to 12 minutes approximately." Home delivery is another big area, growing at 15-20 per cent.
But the fast food retail industry is faced with many hurdles, too. The main pain point is the high cost of real estate. Add to that rising input costs; companies claim their margins are getting squeezed. While the global standard is 10-15 per cent of sales as rentals, in India it goes as high as 20-25 per cent. Says Narayanaswamy, "QSRs follow a revolving door concept, which is come, buy and leave. But India has more of a dine-in culture, which adds to the real estate costs." Kaul says that most of the new Domino's outlets, especially in tier II and III cities, come with a dining area.
"It's a business of patience, not one of making money," says Shyam Sunder Aggarwal, MD, Bikanervala. When that is perfected, there are changing customer preferences to deal with. As consumers taste global cuisine, they want the real thing here. Ask Ashish Kapur, founder of Yo! China. Before Yo! came along in 2003, no one had been successful at doing a fast food Chinese restaurant. Changing tastes and dipping footfalls, however, forced them to change their look and feel, which is a more upscale casual dining kind of restaurant.
"Seven years ago we were serving dimsums and combos," he says, "today it is more khau suey (ingredients served separately) and sizzlers and claypots that people want." Having changed helped. Today their footfalls are up 35 per cent. Kapur also something else going for him: a bit of diversity. Needless to say, customers are 'lovin' it'.
Tags:Fast Food Franchise, Fast Food Franchise,Restaurant Franchise, McDonalds, Haldirams, Bikanervala,Nirulas,Sagar Ratna, Dominos,Yo China,Murugan Idli Shop,MTR, Donkin Donuts,Popeyes,Burger King,Food Franchising,
Source:India Today, Nandini Vaish.
Appin To Expand Training Franchises To Tier 2 Cities In India
Appin announces expansion of its franchise network to tier two cities in India
May 15, 2010 by AboutNanoWires.com
Appin Knowledge Solutions the training wing of appin announces its expansion plan from 90 hi tech training labs to 200 training labs in the current fiscal year. Appin has been a premier company in niche technology training specially programs related to Information Security, Ethical Hacking , Forensics , Embedded Robotics and has been operating across India, Africa and Middle East. Appin has been appreciated by Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam during his presidency at Rashtrapati Bhawan for inspiring efforts in the field of niche technology and has been rated among top 5 IT professional training companies and the best in its category by the popular week magazine in the past.
Mr. Rajat Khare, Director Appin said, “ We have served over 20000 students through our training centers in India and around 83000+ in total but our reach has been typically to metro cities and tier 1 cities in general. We wish to expand to every nook and corner of India and give students a real flavor of high technology training so that they can emerge as leaders of tomorrow. There is shortage of professionals with specialized skills in ethical hacking, information security , forensics, embedded robotics etc and we wish to cover this gap by training more people in this area. We invite potential business partners to join the appin network and become a pioneering education provider in niche technology training”
Appin has been doing a brisk business for last 5 years with multi fold growth in topline and bottomline.The gap of over 400000+ individuals to be trained and placed in industry is a big need and hence appin has taken a task on its end to contribute to the cause.
Tags:Appin,technology training,Training Franchise, Education Training Business, Top IT Training,Rajat Khare, Appin Technology lab,business partners,education franchise,
May 15, 2010 by AboutNanoWires.com
Appin Knowledge Solutions the training wing of appin announces its expansion plan from 90 hi tech training labs to 200 training labs in the current fiscal year. Appin has been a premier company in niche technology training specially programs related to Information Security, Ethical Hacking , Forensics , Embedded Robotics and has been operating across India, Africa and Middle East. Appin has been appreciated by Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam during his presidency at Rashtrapati Bhawan for inspiring efforts in the field of niche technology and has been rated among top 5 IT professional training companies and the best in its category by the popular week magazine in the past.
Mr. Rajat Khare, Director Appin said, “ We have served over 20000 students through our training centers in India and around 83000+ in total but our reach has been typically to metro cities and tier 1 cities in general. We wish to expand to every nook and corner of India and give students a real flavor of high technology training so that they can emerge as leaders of tomorrow. There is shortage of professionals with specialized skills in ethical hacking, information security , forensics, embedded robotics etc and we wish to cover this gap by training more people in this area. We invite potential business partners to join the appin network and become a pioneering education provider in niche technology training”
Appin has been doing a brisk business for last 5 years with multi fold growth in topline and bottomline.The gap of over 400000+ individuals to be trained and placed in industry is a big need and hence appin has taken a task on its end to contribute to the cause.
Tags:Appin,technology training,Training Franchise, Education Training Business, Top IT Training,Rajat Khare, Appin Technology lab,business partners,education franchise,
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Worlds Largest Eyewear Retail Chain Sunglass Hut Plans 30 Outlets In 3 Yrs
Sunglass Hut plans India expansion in three years
NEW DELHI: World’s largest eyewear retail chain Sunglass Hut on Wednesday said that it plans to have a total of 30 outlets across the country in the next three years, spreading pan-India to tap into the growing demand for fashion accessories in the market .
“Sunglass Hut has got a great response in India during the last year-and-a-half of our presence here. In the next three years, we plan to create a chain of 30 outlets across key markets, including metros, mini-metros and major Tier II cities,” Sunglass Hut brand manager Mr Pradeep Bhanot said.
It currently has five exclusive outlets in India, spread across Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai. “Just early this week, we ventured into Mumbai, the fashion capital of India, with the first store coming up in the city. Fashion eyewear is a growing concept in the country, and we want to capitalise on it,” Mr Bhanot said.
Sunglass Hut is focusing on cities such as Kolkata, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Bangalore and Chennai for future growth, he added.
Sunglass Hut, owned by Italian firm Luxottica, is present in India under a franchise agreement with DLF Brands, realty major DLF’s retail management arm.
The chain offers over two dozen premium international brands, including Versace, Bulgari, Burberry, Prada, Tiffany, Persol, Revo and Salvatore Ferragamo.
Mr Bhanot said that Sunglass Hut launched a few other international brands, including Paul Smith and Oliver, this week, and plans to further strengthen its portfolio in the months to come.
Sunglass Hut has over 2,000 outlets across various markets, including the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Middle- East and South Africa.
Tags: eyewear franchise,optical franchise,retail franchise, accessory franchise, International Franchise, sunglass hut, sun glass hut,fashion franchise,luxottica, draft franchise agreement, dlf brands,
Source:- PTI, Hindu Business Line, May 12, 2010.
NEW DELHI: World’s largest eyewear retail chain Sunglass Hut on Wednesday said that it plans to have a total of 30 outlets across the country in the next three years, spreading pan-India to tap into the growing demand for fashion accessories in the market .
“Sunglass Hut has got a great response in India during the last year-and-a-half of our presence here. In the next three years, we plan to create a chain of 30 outlets across key markets, including metros, mini-metros and major Tier II cities,” Sunglass Hut brand manager Mr Pradeep Bhanot said.
It currently has five exclusive outlets in India, spread across Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai. “Just early this week, we ventured into Mumbai, the fashion capital of India, with the first store coming up in the city. Fashion eyewear is a growing concept in the country, and we want to capitalise on it,” Mr Bhanot said.
Sunglass Hut is focusing on cities such as Kolkata, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Bangalore and Chennai for future growth, he added.
Sunglass Hut, owned by Italian firm Luxottica, is present in India under a franchise agreement with DLF Brands, realty major DLF’s retail management arm.
The chain offers over two dozen premium international brands, including Versace, Bulgari, Burberry, Prada, Tiffany, Persol, Revo and Salvatore Ferragamo.
Mr Bhanot said that Sunglass Hut launched a few other international brands, including Paul Smith and Oliver, this week, and plans to further strengthen its portfolio in the months to come.
Sunglass Hut has over 2,000 outlets across various markets, including the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Middle- East and South Africa.
Tags: eyewear franchise,optical franchise,retail franchise, accessory franchise, International Franchise, sunglass hut, sun glass hut,fashion franchise,luxottica, draft franchise agreement, dlf brands,
Source:- PTI, Hindu Business Line, May 12, 2010.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Amritsar hotting up to retail franchise brands.
Amritsar, April 30, 2010: Archies opened another store in Amritsar today at The Celebration Mall. The company has got some special collections which will be displayed in this mall.
The special gallery offers a wide range of Gifts, Toys, Cards, Disney Collection, Soft Toys, Helpage Products, Greeting Cards, Gift Packs, Calendars, Diaries, Business Organiser, Telephone Index, Perfumes, Perfumes and Deodorants, Exclusive Gifts, Showpieces, Pen Sets, Photo Frames, Toys & Huggables, Clocks and Watches, Kitchen Packs, Combo Gifts, Kids Stuff, Gifts For Her, Gifts For Him and all occassion Greeting Cards.
The Celebration Mall has a built up area of 2, 04,000 square feet with a total of nine levels including three levels of basement parking (approx 1, 28,000 square feet). A blend of international brands like the multiplex Cinepolis, UK retail giant Marks & Spencer, fashion brands like UCB, Levi's, Adidas, Reebok, Van Heusen, Allen Solly, Peter England, foodservice majors McDonald's and Cafe Coffe Day and a significant number of prominent local retailers like Bille Di hatti, Mohini Woolens, Xclusive Boutique, Kazo can be seen at the property. The other power brands of the mall are SRS Value Bazaar, 1469, Lilliput, and GKB Opticals
Tags: Amritsar Franchise, Franchising Amritsar, Archies Franchise, UCB, Levi's, cafe coffee day, Bille Di Hatti, Mohini Woolens, Kazo, Lilliput, GKB Opticals,SRS Value Bazaar,1469,celebration mall,
The special gallery offers a wide range of Gifts, Toys, Cards, Disney Collection, Soft Toys, Helpage Products, Greeting Cards, Gift Packs, Calendars, Diaries, Business Organiser, Telephone Index, Perfumes, Perfumes and Deodorants, Exclusive Gifts, Showpieces, Pen Sets, Photo Frames, Toys & Huggables, Clocks and Watches, Kitchen Packs, Combo Gifts, Kids Stuff, Gifts For Her, Gifts For Him and all occassion Greeting Cards.
The Celebration Mall has a built up area of 2, 04,000 square feet with a total of nine levels including three levels of basement parking (approx 1, 28,000 square feet). A blend of international brands like the multiplex Cinepolis, UK retail giant Marks & Spencer, fashion brands like UCB, Levi's, Adidas, Reebok, Van Heusen, Allen Solly, Peter England, foodservice majors McDonald's and Cafe Coffe Day and a significant number of prominent local retailers like Bille Di hatti, Mohini Woolens, Xclusive Boutique, Kazo can be seen at the property. The other power brands of the mall are SRS Value Bazaar, 1469, Lilliput, and GKB Opticals
Tags: Amritsar Franchise, Franchising Amritsar, Archies Franchise, UCB, Levi's, cafe coffee day, Bille Di Hatti, Mohini Woolens, Kazo, Lilliput, GKB Opticals,SRS Value Bazaar,1469,celebration mall,
'Education,' A Recession Proof Franchise Business.
'Education is a recession proof business'
Q&A: DINESH VICTOR, MD, SIP Academy
Chennai-headquartered SIP Academy India Pvt. Ltd., a skill development organization for children, provides a unique learning experience to more than 1.5 lakh school children in the area of mathematics, art and languages. Moreover, it gives a business opportunity with a nominal investment with substantial returns. SIP India has been awarded ISO 9000:2008 certificate for the intensive quality training. Dinesh Victor, MD, SIP, India in a chat with Hrishikesh Joshi shares the business opportunities in understanding that each kid is unique and has the potential to be a winner
What is SIP Academy and how does it function?
SIP Academy India Pvt. Ltd., is a children skill development organization headquartered in Chennai started in the year 2003. Various programs offered by SIP Academy have been developed after years of research and testing and are of International standards. These programs focus on developing various skills in children. In the process of developing skills they improve the learning ability of the child. This fun learning methodology achieves the objective of making the child achieve excellence not only in academics but also in other walks of life. This requires constant communication between the three - viz. Parent, Teacher and the Child to ensure best results.
How has the concept emerged?
Basically, this is Malaysian concept and founded by Kelvin Tham. We have developed our own courses in Mathematics, art and learning and linguistics. The courses are designed by international experts and are globally reputed. Now it is over many countries like Japan, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, South Africa, Canada, USA and Nigeria.
Tell us something about your franchise business?
This network is the biggest strength of SIP Academy. We have a network in the states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu. But 40 per cent of business is concentrated in Maharashtra. There are over 80 cities and towns were the franchises had been offered. And more than 45000 students are learning the courses. Currently, we have 44 master trainers and 562 trainers all over India who are actually running the academy. SIP is expanded over 20 states, 200 cities and 500 centres across India with a turnover of Rs 10 crore.
To whom do you offer franchise? What kind of investment does it require?
It does not require a huge investment around Rs 1 to 1.5 lakh. You can earn substantial amount of profit out of it. For an educated individuals, graduates, housewives it is a very good opportunity to start their own business. My opinion is that education is a recession proof business. Parents will never compromise on their child's quality of education.We conduct training sessions for them so that they are able to teach students.
What kind of courses do you offer and how they are help full in a kid's development?
We conduct courses for the children pf age groups between 5 to 13 years. We offer SIP Abacus and Brain Gym to develop arithmetic skills and learning abilities. The other one is Global Art which was launched in 2005 which helps to enhance their level of creativity. Third programme is AMAL which is Accelerated Mental Learning has been developed with a vision to build and improve multiple intelligence in the child. Mi Kids is phonics based language programme for children and it incorporates phonemic awareness, phonic fluency and vocabulary.
We do conduct competitions known as SIP Prodigy and it holds Limca Book of Records in 2007 conducted in Bangalore and till date we have conducted 30 competitions all over India.
The children who are trained in the SIP programme are now studying in prestigious universities. Over the past six years, over 1.5 lakh students have been trained in this system.
What are your expansion plans?
We are planning to increase franchises. Currently we have 500 centres all over India. We have not expanded much in north India as compare to South India and Maharashtra. The revenue target is around Rs 15 crore in next three years.
Source:Business Standard, Hrishikesh Joshi / Mumbai May 11, 2010, 0:29 IST
Q&A: DINESH VICTOR, MD, SIP Academy
Chennai-headquartered SIP Academy India Pvt. Ltd., a skill development organization for children, provides a unique learning experience to more than 1.5 lakh school children in the area of mathematics, art and languages. Moreover, it gives a business opportunity with a nominal investment with substantial returns. SIP India has been awarded ISO 9000:2008 certificate for the intensive quality training. Dinesh Victor, MD, SIP, India in a chat with Hrishikesh Joshi shares the business opportunities in understanding that each kid is unique and has the potential to be a winner
What is SIP Academy and how does it function?
SIP Academy India Pvt. Ltd., is a children skill development organization headquartered in Chennai started in the year 2003. Various programs offered by SIP Academy have been developed after years of research and testing and are of International standards. These programs focus on developing various skills in children. In the process of developing skills they improve the learning ability of the child. This fun learning methodology achieves the objective of making the child achieve excellence not only in academics but also in other walks of life. This requires constant communication between the three - viz. Parent, Teacher and the Child to ensure best results.
How has the concept emerged?
Basically, this is Malaysian concept and founded by Kelvin Tham. We have developed our own courses in Mathematics, art and learning and linguistics. The courses are designed by international experts and are globally reputed. Now it is over many countries like Japan, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, South Africa, Canada, USA and Nigeria.
Tell us something about your franchise business?
This network is the biggest strength of SIP Academy. We have a network in the states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu. But 40 per cent of business is concentrated in Maharashtra. There are over 80 cities and towns were the franchises had been offered. And more than 45000 students are learning the courses. Currently, we have 44 master trainers and 562 trainers all over India who are actually running the academy. SIP is expanded over 20 states, 200 cities and 500 centres across India with a turnover of Rs 10 crore.
To whom do you offer franchise? What kind of investment does it require?
It does not require a huge investment around Rs 1 to 1.5 lakh. You can earn substantial amount of profit out of it. For an educated individuals, graduates, housewives it is a very good opportunity to start their own business. My opinion is that education is a recession proof business. Parents will never compromise on their child's quality of education.We conduct training sessions for them so that they are able to teach students.
What kind of courses do you offer and how they are help full in a kid's development?
We conduct courses for the children pf age groups between 5 to 13 years. We offer SIP Abacus and Brain Gym to develop arithmetic skills and learning abilities. The other one is Global Art which was launched in 2005 which helps to enhance their level of creativity. Third programme is AMAL which is Accelerated Mental Learning has been developed with a vision to build and improve multiple intelligence in the child. Mi Kids is phonics based language programme for children and it incorporates phonemic awareness, phonic fluency and vocabulary.
We do conduct competitions known as SIP Prodigy and it holds Limca Book of Records in 2007 conducted in Bangalore and till date we have conducted 30 competitions all over India.
The children who are trained in the SIP programme are now studying in prestigious universities. Over the past six years, over 1.5 lakh students have been trained in this system.
What are your expansion plans?
We are planning to increase franchises. Currently we have 500 centres all over India. We have not expanded much in north India as compare to South India and Maharashtra. The revenue target is around Rs 15 crore in next three years.
Source:Business Standard, Hrishikesh Joshi / Mumbai May 11, 2010, 0:29 IST
Monday, May 10, 2010
Pavers Sets Strong Ambitions For Franchise Cum Own Stores growth strategy
UK footwear retailer Pavers eyes larger India presence
The prospect of selling more shoes in an emerging market of India’s size is driving international footwear retailers to this part of the globe. Some of them are inking joint venture agreements with leading retailers, such as Clark’s of the UK with the Future Group. Others, such as Crocs of the US, have already had a headstart by launching operations in the country a few years ago.
Some others are fine tuning their presence here in anticipation of the competition. Such as Pavers, a leading British footwear retailer. It has over 100 stores in England and Ireland. In India, where it has been present since 2008 via a joint venture with a UK-based shipping and oil drilling firm called Foresight, its footprint has been restricted to five franchisee stores and 90 department stores and multi-brand outlets.
This, says, Pavers’ managing director Stuart Paver, is hardly enough in a steadily growing market. The branded footwear market is estimated to be Rs 4,500 crore in size. It is growing at a steady 20 per cent yearly. This is tempting enough for both national and international majors to make a beeline. Existing domestic footwear firms such as Bata, Liberty, Relaxo and Metro, for instance, are expanding their network to take advantage of the boom.
Pavers, then, will have to act fast, says its MD, if it has to go anywhere in terms of matching the size and scale of operations of these companies.
“We will be adding another six franchisee stores in the next two months,” says Paver. “And, are contemplating to grow this model further. At the moment, we have tie-ups with three companies for franchisee operations - Triton Retail, RG Enterprises and Bansal Supermarket in Chennai, Bangalore and Delhi, respectively. These companies are willing to take their franchisee operations to allied parts of the country. That should help in our expansion drive in the future.”
Tags:pavers, clarks, crocs, Bata, liberty, relaxo, metro, franchisee stores, franchisee operations, franchise growth, franchise recruitment, footwear franchise,
Source:Business Standard, Viveat Susan Pinto, Mumbai May 10, 2010
The prospect of selling more shoes in an emerging market of India’s size is driving international footwear retailers to this part of the globe. Some of them are inking joint venture agreements with leading retailers, such as Clark’s of the UK with the Future Group. Others, such as Crocs of the US, have already had a headstart by launching operations in the country a few years ago.
Some others are fine tuning their presence here in anticipation of the competition. Such as Pavers, a leading British footwear retailer. It has over 100 stores in England and Ireland. In India, where it has been present since 2008 via a joint venture with a UK-based shipping and oil drilling firm called Foresight, its footprint has been restricted to five franchisee stores and 90 department stores and multi-brand outlets.
This, says, Pavers’ managing director Stuart Paver, is hardly enough in a steadily growing market. The branded footwear market is estimated to be Rs 4,500 crore in size. It is growing at a steady 20 per cent yearly. This is tempting enough for both national and international majors to make a beeline. Existing domestic footwear firms such as Bata, Liberty, Relaxo and Metro, for instance, are expanding their network to take advantage of the boom.
Pavers, then, will have to act fast, says its MD, if it has to go anywhere in terms of matching the size and scale of operations of these companies.
“We will be adding another six franchisee stores in the next two months,” says Paver. “And, are contemplating to grow this model further. At the moment, we have tie-ups with three companies for franchisee operations - Triton Retail, RG Enterprises and Bansal Supermarket in Chennai, Bangalore and Delhi, respectively. These companies are willing to take their franchisee operations to allied parts of the country. That should help in our expansion drive in the future.”
Tags:pavers, clarks, crocs, Bata, liberty, relaxo, metro, franchisee stores, franchisee operations, franchise growth, franchise recruitment, footwear franchise,
Source:Business Standard, Viveat Susan Pinto, Mumbai May 10, 2010
India Domino's Fastest Growing Franchise Market.Celebrates 9000 Franchisees Worldwide.
New Delhi store part of Domino’s 9K celebration
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Domino’s Pizza celebrated opening its 9,000 store with two symbolic openings earlier this year: one in New Delhi, India and the other in New Orleans.
Founded in 1960 and marking its 50th year in business, Domino's Pizza is the second largest pizza chain in the world and the company marked the opening of its 8,000th store in 2006 in similar fashion, with symbolic openings in Chicago, Ill., and in Panama City, Panama.
“For half a century, Domino’s Pizza has been able to grow and thrive thanks to the dedication and efforts of franchisees and team members the world over, as demonstrated by our franchisees in India and Louisiana,” said Domino’s Chief Executive Officer J. Patrick Doyle. “These are two of the largest and best franchise organizations in our system, and it’s appropriate that they are sharing in this distinction.
“Opening our 9,000th store is a great milestone,” Doyle added. “And we’re looking toward one of the goals we set some time ago: we want to clip the ribbon on our 10,000th store within the first half of this decade. We are looking forward to making that happen.”
Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd, the master franchisee for Domino’s Pizza in India, marked a milestone of its own with the opening of its store: it is the company’s 300th in that country. Doyle, along with Executive Vice President of Domino's Pizza International Michael Lawton and Executive Vice President of Communication & Investor Relations Lynn Liddle, joined master franchisee Hari Bhartia and Jubilant FoodWorks President Ajay Kaul and others at a ribbon-cutting ceremony, followed by a press conference and the donation of products to feed 4,500 underprivileged children in the local community of Pitampura, a residential neighborhood in north New Delhi.
Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd. is Domino's fastest-growing franchise, having opened approximately 65 stores in the last year.
“Today is a historical moment for Domino's Pizza India,” said Hari Bhartia, co-chairman of Jubilant FoodWorks. “We started our journey in India in 1996 with the opening of our first store in Delhi. With the opening of 300th store, we have come a long way in this fulfilling journey creating new milestones and benchmarks for ourselves and for the rest of QSR industry to follow. We have pioneered organized QSR and pizza retail in India. We also introduced and built the concept of home delivery in India. But we believe this is still the beginning as the Indian market has a very large potential.”
The New Orleans store was opened by RPM Pizza LLC, the company is Domino’s largest U.S. franchisee with 135 locations. The store was opened on Chef Menteur Highway, one of the areas decimated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The new free-standing store will be “hurricane ready” with generators, an extra-large cooler and the ability to reopen quickly to serve citizens of the community.
“Our franchise is closing in on its 30th anniversary and we have remained committed to being there when our communities need it most,” said Glenn Mueller, president of RPM Pizza. “We’ve always sought to have ours be the last restaurants to close and the first to open in times of great need. Opening a new store in this neighborhood is one more step toward rebuilding this great city. Domino's Pizza was the first chain to offer pizza delivery service and now Domino's is the first to service all areas of metro New Orleans.”
Mueller noted that RPM Pizza plans to hire nearly 100 additional employees throughout the New Orleans area.
Founded in 1960 and headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., Domino’s Pizza operates a network of 9,000 franchised and company-owned stores in the United States and over 60 international markets. The Domino's Pizza had global retail sales of over $5.6 billion in 2009, comprised of nearly $3.1 billion domestically and over $2.5 billion internationally.
Source:Indus News Wire
Tags:Domino's, Dominos, Pizza Franchise, Fast Food Franchise, Mexican Restaurant Franchise, best franchise, Master Franchise, franchise chain, franchise expansion, franchise recruitment.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Domino’s Pizza celebrated opening its 9,000 store with two symbolic openings earlier this year: one in New Delhi, India and the other in New Orleans.
Founded in 1960 and marking its 50th year in business, Domino's Pizza is the second largest pizza chain in the world and the company marked the opening of its 8,000th store in 2006 in similar fashion, with symbolic openings in Chicago, Ill., and in Panama City, Panama.
“For half a century, Domino’s Pizza has been able to grow and thrive thanks to the dedication and efforts of franchisees and team members the world over, as demonstrated by our franchisees in India and Louisiana,” said Domino’s Chief Executive Officer J. Patrick Doyle. “These are two of the largest and best franchise organizations in our system, and it’s appropriate that they are sharing in this distinction.
“Opening our 9,000th store is a great milestone,” Doyle added. “And we’re looking toward one of the goals we set some time ago: we want to clip the ribbon on our 10,000th store within the first half of this decade. We are looking forward to making that happen.”
Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd, the master franchisee for Domino’s Pizza in India, marked a milestone of its own with the opening of its store: it is the company’s 300th in that country. Doyle, along with Executive Vice President of Domino's Pizza International Michael Lawton and Executive Vice President of Communication & Investor Relations Lynn Liddle, joined master franchisee Hari Bhartia and Jubilant FoodWorks President Ajay Kaul and others at a ribbon-cutting ceremony, followed by a press conference and the donation of products to feed 4,500 underprivileged children in the local community of Pitampura, a residential neighborhood in north New Delhi.
Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd. is Domino's fastest-growing franchise, having opened approximately 65 stores in the last year.
“Today is a historical moment for Domino's Pizza India,” said Hari Bhartia, co-chairman of Jubilant FoodWorks. “We started our journey in India in 1996 with the opening of our first store in Delhi. With the opening of 300th store, we have come a long way in this fulfilling journey creating new milestones and benchmarks for ourselves and for the rest of QSR industry to follow. We have pioneered organized QSR and pizza retail in India. We also introduced and built the concept of home delivery in India. But we believe this is still the beginning as the Indian market has a very large potential.”
The New Orleans store was opened by RPM Pizza LLC, the company is Domino’s largest U.S. franchisee with 135 locations. The store was opened on Chef Menteur Highway, one of the areas decimated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The new free-standing store will be “hurricane ready” with generators, an extra-large cooler and the ability to reopen quickly to serve citizens of the community.
“Our franchise is closing in on its 30th anniversary and we have remained committed to being there when our communities need it most,” said Glenn Mueller, president of RPM Pizza. “We’ve always sought to have ours be the last restaurants to close and the first to open in times of great need. Opening a new store in this neighborhood is one more step toward rebuilding this great city. Domino's Pizza was the first chain to offer pizza delivery service and now Domino's is the first to service all areas of metro New Orleans.”
Mueller noted that RPM Pizza plans to hire nearly 100 additional employees throughout the New Orleans area.
Founded in 1960 and headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., Domino’s Pizza operates a network of 9,000 franchised and company-owned stores in the United States and over 60 international markets. The Domino's Pizza had global retail sales of over $5.6 billion in 2009, comprised of nearly $3.1 billion domestically and over $2.5 billion internationally.
Source:Indus News Wire
Tags:Domino's, Dominos, Pizza Franchise, Fast Food Franchise, Mexican Restaurant Franchise, best franchise, Master Franchise, franchise chain, franchise expansion, franchise recruitment.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Divine Self Opens at Taj President Mumbai and to Expand Further Across India Through Franchising
Signwrite India introduces its first spa outlet at Taj President, Mumbai
Plans to expand in India through franchise model
Friday, May 07, 2010, 10:00 Hrs [IST]
Signwrite India, a company manufacturing writing instruments has entered into the wellness industry by unveiling their spa and wellness brand ‘Divine Self’. The first outlet has been introduced at Taj President in Mumbai offering products like mood elevators, foot spa, hair spa, face spa and range of body spa. The company plans to expand its footprints to other Indian cities through its own outlets along with franchise model. It is targeting all major five-star properties in cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Goa, Chennai and Jaipur for the outlets.
Talking exclusively with Hospitality Biz, Sudarshan Motwani, CMD, Signwrite India said, “Spa and wellness sector across the world are booming with double digits growth. Everyone is talking about spa vacations and wellness tourism in various destinations. The growing demand for spa and wellness holidays is increasing with hotels now highlighting spa as their USP. Thus, we started off in a five-star property in the heart of India’s financial capital. We intend to introduce our outlets at major five-star properties across the country to tap inbound and high-end domestic clients.” Adding further about growth plans, Motwani said, “We first plan to establish ourselves in Mumbai by introducing two or three more outlets and then move to other cities. We are currently in talks with Grand Hyatt, Mumbai and with few Taj properties across India.”
Highlighting the USP of ‘Divine Self’, Motwani informed that all products at the outlet are signature products based on aroma oils. The company is also planning to supply these signature products to hotels which have or are planning to or currently offering spa facilities.
Source:Hospitality Biz India,Anita Jain,Mumbai
Tags: Signwrite India,Foot Spa, Hair Spa, Face Spa, Body Spa, Spa Franchise, wellness franchise, Mumbai Franchise, franchising Mumbai, franchise model, franchise in five star hotels,
Plans to expand in India through franchise model
Friday, May 07, 2010, 10:00 Hrs [IST]
Signwrite India, a company manufacturing writing instruments has entered into the wellness industry by unveiling their spa and wellness brand ‘Divine Self’. The first outlet has been introduced at Taj President in Mumbai offering products like mood elevators, foot spa, hair spa, face spa and range of body spa. The company plans to expand its footprints to other Indian cities through its own outlets along with franchise model. It is targeting all major five-star properties in cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Goa, Chennai and Jaipur for the outlets.
Talking exclusively with Hospitality Biz, Sudarshan Motwani, CMD, Signwrite India said, “Spa and wellness sector across the world are booming with double digits growth. Everyone is talking about spa vacations and wellness tourism in various destinations. The growing demand for spa and wellness holidays is increasing with hotels now highlighting spa as their USP. Thus, we started off in a five-star property in the heart of India’s financial capital. We intend to introduce our outlets at major five-star properties across the country to tap inbound and high-end domestic clients.” Adding further about growth plans, Motwani said, “We first plan to establish ourselves in Mumbai by introducing two or three more outlets and then move to other cities. We are currently in talks with Grand Hyatt, Mumbai and with few Taj properties across India.”
Highlighting the USP of ‘Divine Self’, Motwani informed that all products at the outlet are signature products based on aroma oils. The company is also planning to supply these signature products to hotels which have or are planning to or currently offering spa facilities.
Source:Hospitality Biz India,Anita Jain,Mumbai
Tags: Signwrite India,Foot Spa, Hair Spa, Face Spa, Body Spa, Spa Franchise, wellness franchise, Mumbai Franchise, franchising Mumbai, franchise model, franchise in five star hotels,
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Zoomin Photo Studio Franchise Opportunity
Zoomin.com, India’s #1 Photo Sharing, Printing and Custom Gifting service, today unveiled its retail strategy with the simultaneous opening of 6 ZoomIn Studios throughout the country. These stores are located as “shop-in-shop” within the Crossword Bookstores in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Bangalore and Kolkata.
A Photo Studio for Today’s Generation
The chic new ZoomIn Studio format is a significant step in empowering the “memory keepers” of the family and giving them the tools to express, create and preserve their ‘moments of magic’ through photos. Unlike any traditional photo retail store experience available today, the design and execution of each Studio has focused on creating a collaborative experience zone for customers to touch and feel stunningly beautiful and evocative photo gifts, get inspired and work with expert designers on the spot to tell their own story through photos. With a wide selection of products and services on display, such as traditional photo prints, giant enlargements, prints on canvas, “coffee-table book” style hardcover photo books and a vast line of personalized stationery, note cards and invites. The stores are equipped with state of the art touchscreen displays to create a fun and exciting way for everyone to create magic with their photos. All a customer needs to do is walk in with their photographs in print or digital format, then let their imagination and the ZoomIn team take over.
A One Stop Photo Studio: While the ZoomIn Studio has introduced an exciting array of innovations in celebrating life through photos such as the Photo book, canvas print, custom 100% cotton tee; the traditional and essential needs of a photo taking professional, enthusiast or family member have not been ignored. Professional quality photo prints from wallet to giant wall sized enlargements are available in multiple finishes such as matte, glossy, lustre and metallic. These professional prints are available for next day pickup at the studio, delivery to the home or worldwide through ZoomIn’s network of delivery partners. Also launching with the Studios is the ZoomIn Passport Photo Pack. A single click by a trained professional at the ZoomIn Studio is probably the last time you will need to get a passport photo taken. Instant reorders of your passport prints will be available online and at any ZoomIn Studio location nationwide through an SMS.
Sunny Balijepalli, Co-Founder and CEO, Zoomin.com said, “Our goal both online and now through the launch of retail stores has been consistent – we want to allow everyone in the family experience first-hand the magic possible through the exciting new developments in digital photography and on-demand personalization and printing. We’re especially thrilled to have partnered with Crossword Bookstores to launch our first wave of stores around the country. As a service that aims to preserve a family’s favourite moments, ZoomIn’s offerings fit particularly well with the store demographics. We see this partnership as a great opportunity to strengthen our distribution network and to take ZoomIn’s photo and personalization services closer to its target audience. We are excited about our growth plans to reach out to a wider audience across the country and aim to expand the number of ZoomIn Studios to 25 by end of this year, in a variety of formats and locations.”
According to industry reports, the Indian digital printing industry is growing at a whopping CAGR of 85%. Camera enabled handset sales are also expected to boost digital photography over the next few years. “We’re seeing very encouraging growth in the area of personalization as there is a plethora of readily available digital content and consumers are looking at innovative ways to celebrate them. ZoomIn Studio is a service built for India, serving a Diaspora that is connected through memories and their celebration through photos”, added Sunny.
ZoomIn had successfully launched its first exclusive franchise store in Mumbai in September 2009.
The Exciting Launch Offer: The ZoomIn Studio is excited to celebrate its launch with a free gift to all its customers. For a limited time, every walk-in customer to the ZoomIn Studio in Mulund Crosssword Bookstore will be eligible to receive a set of 25 free Photo Prints or a free Photo Book with their first purchase at the store.
Tags:Photography franchise, photo studio franchise, photo store franchise,zoomin.com, zoomin, franchise store,new franchise, unique franchise,India Franchise, Mumbai Franchise,
A Photo Studio for Today’s Generation
The chic new ZoomIn Studio format is a significant step in empowering the “memory keepers” of the family and giving them the tools to express, create and preserve their ‘moments of magic’ through photos. Unlike any traditional photo retail store experience available today, the design and execution of each Studio has focused on creating a collaborative experience zone for customers to touch and feel stunningly beautiful and evocative photo gifts, get inspired and work with expert designers on the spot to tell their own story through photos. With a wide selection of products and services on display, such as traditional photo prints, giant enlargements, prints on canvas, “coffee-table book” style hardcover photo books and a vast line of personalized stationery, note cards and invites. The stores are equipped with state of the art touchscreen displays to create a fun and exciting way for everyone to create magic with their photos. All a customer needs to do is walk in with their photographs in print or digital format, then let their imagination and the ZoomIn team take over.
A One Stop Photo Studio: While the ZoomIn Studio has introduced an exciting array of innovations in celebrating life through photos such as the Photo book, canvas print, custom 100% cotton tee; the traditional and essential needs of a photo taking professional, enthusiast or family member have not been ignored. Professional quality photo prints from wallet to giant wall sized enlargements are available in multiple finishes such as matte, glossy, lustre and metallic. These professional prints are available for next day pickup at the studio, delivery to the home or worldwide through ZoomIn’s network of delivery partners. Also launching with the Studios is the ZoomIn Passport Photo Pack. A single click by a trained professional at the ZoomIn Studio is probably the last time you will need to get a passport photo taken. Instant reorders of your passport prints will be available online and at any ZoomIn Studio location nationwide through an SMS.
Sunny Balijepalli, Co-Founder and CEO, Zoomin.com said, “Our goal both online and now through the launch of retail stores has been consistent – we want to allow everyone in the family experience first-hand the magic possible through the exciting new developments in digital photography and on-demand personalization and printing. We’re especially thrilled to have partnered with Crossword Bookstores to launch our first wave of stores around the country. As a service that aims to preserve a family’s favourite moments, ZoomIn’s offerings fit particularly well with the store demographics. We see this partnership as a great opportunity to strengthen our distribution network and to take ZoomIn’s photo and personalization services closer to its target audience. We are excited about our growth plans to reach out to a wider audience across the country and aim to expand the number of ZoomIn Studios to 25 by end of this year, in a variety of formats and locations.”
According to industry reports, the Indian digital printing industry is growing at a whopping CAGR of 85%. Camera enabled handset sales are also expected to boost digital photography over the next few years. “We’re seeing very encouraging growth in the area of personalization as there is a plethora of readily available digital content and consumers are looking at innovative ways to celebrate them. ZoomIn Studio is a service built for India, serving a Diaspora that is connected through memories and their celebration through photos”, added Sunny.
ZoomIn had successfully launched its first exclusive franchise store in Mumbai in September 2009.
The Exciting Launch Offer: The ZoomIn Studio is excited to celebrate its launch with a free gift to all its customers. For a limited time, every walk-in customer to the ZoomIn Studio in Mulund Crosssword Bookstore will be eligible to receive a set of 25 free Photo Prints or a free Photo Book with their first purchase at the store.
Tags:Photography franchise, photo studio franchise, photo store franchise,zoomin.com, zoomin, franchise store,new franchise, unique franchise,India Franchise, Mumbai Franchise,
Monday, May 3, 2010
Golds Gym Master Franchise Opens a Unit In Guwahati
Gold's Gym opens another branch in Guwahati; The Land of the Brahmaputra
Guwahati, Assam, May 3, 2010 /India PRwire/ -- Gold's Gym India, the master franchise of Gold's Gym International launched its new branch in Guwahati, spread over 6000 square feet of land and comprises of the latest international and world class equipment, fitted with 19 cardio stations including 10 treadmills, 2 cross trainers, 2 recumbent and 1 upright bike from Precor, USA, 2 arc trainers from Cybex, USA & one stepper from Cybex, USA and 1 rowing machine from Concept. The strength training section is from Cybex Eagle Series and Nautilus Nitro Plus, USA with free weights from Cybex, USA. Additional facilities includes steam, massages and a juice bar.
At Gold's Gym, you'll find state-of-the-art circuits and cardiovascular equipment, free weights, and cutting edge group classes such as spinning and aerobics.
With certified trainers and nutritional counseling, Gold's Gym provides a comprehensive approach to the health and well-being of its members. Whether your goal is to burn fat, tone or add muscle, build strength, increase flexibility or improve your cardiovascular health, only Gold's Gym has the atmosphere and experience you need.
Mr. Noel Menezes,-Manager Operations -Franchising Gold's Gym informs "India's biggest fitness lovers work out at our gym. We are happy to announce the launch of yet another branch, where the residents of Guwahati finally get to utilize our services".
Adds Mr. Nikhil Kakkar, Franchising Incharge North & East - Gold's Gym, "Globally, health and fitness is a growing business. We, at Gold's Gym have made a constant effort to increase our branches all over India, so that everyone gets access to an International chain of fitness centres"
Gold's Gym has not only achieved stupendous success internationally, but has also made its mark in India and its cities successfully. Today Gold's is the largest international gym chain with over 700 facilities worldwide. Internationally, Gold's Gym has been immortalized by the acknowledgement of icons such as Arnold Schwazzeneger and Madonna. Sohail Khan, Rahul Khanna, Riteish Deshmukh, Diya Mirza, John Abraham & Bipasha Basu and upcoming star Ranbir Kapoor are some of famous celebrities using Gold's Gym facilities.
44 years of dedicated hard work to help people integrate fitness into their daily stressed out lives has been the utmost priority at Gold's.
In today's fast-paced lives where health often takes a backseat, its time one began to give their bodies their due. So, do come and join Gold's Gym, Guwahati.
Notes to Editor
About Gold's Gym India:
Gold's Gym started in Venice California in 1965, and soon became the hotbed for the development of training techniques, equipment and nutritional concepts that formed the foundation for the modern fitness revolution. In 1975, Gold's Gym received international attention when it was featured in the major motion picture, 'Pumping Iron'. It was thus effectively established as the 'Mecca of Bodybuilding'.
Today, Gold's Gym has over 700 facilities. It is the largest international gym chain in the world recognized for its passion, unique heritage, and experience as the final authority in fitness and lifestyle.
The India chapter of Gold's Gym started in 2002, when the first Gold's Gym India branch was set up at Napean Sea Road, Mumbai. In the next few years this number grew, and today Gold's Gym has cut out for itself 41 gym facilities in various cities of the country like Mumbai - at Nepean Sea Road, Bandra, Santacruz, Andheri, Chembur, Mulund, Vashi, Kandivali , Goregaon , Lower Parel- Express. Outside Mumbai at - Ahmedabad, Baroda, Kolkata, Bangalore, Pune ,Delhi, Faridabad, Indore, Jaipur, Udaipur, Guwahati, Ludhiana, Kolhapur, Lucknow, Mohali , Amritsar, Nashik, Coimbatore, Hubli, Gurgaon, Noida, Jalandhar, Secundrabad, Surat and outside India in Dhaka, Bangladesh .
Gold's Gym India is the First Master Franchisee to be given a 20 years extension on the Master Franchise rights for South Asia
- India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka & Maldives.
- We have now acquired the Master Franchise rights for Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.
Promoted by partners Jagdish K Valecha, Rajesh Advani and G. Ramachandran, Gold's Gym India has slowly and steadily carved its name in the Indian market and built a reputation to reckon with.
Globally, Gold's Gym is acknowledged for its unrivalled success in providing the finest equipment and fitness knowledge available to help its members achieve their individual potential. It follows a globally proven fitness training module with state-of-the-art infrastructure and delivery methodology and continuous up gradation through training programs. With certified trainers and nutritional counseling, Gold's Gym provides a comprehensive approach to the health and well being of its member. Whether your goal is to burn fat, tone or add muscle, build strength, increase flexibility or improve your cardiovascular health, only Gold's Gym has the atmosphere and experience you need Gold's Gym also undertakes managing corporate gyms and providing personalized training to hi-network individuals at their residences.
Tags:Gold's Gym India,fitness franchise, franchise guwahati, international gym chain,master franchisee,jagdish valecha, rajesh advani, G Ramachandran,unisex gyms,best gym franchise
Source:India Pr Wire.
Guwahati, Assam, May 3, 2010 /India PRwire/ -- Gold's Gym India, the master franchise of Gold's Gym International launched its new branch in Guwahati, spread over 6000 square feet of land and comprises of the latest international and world class equipment, fitted with 19 cardio stations including 10 treadmills, 2 cross trainers, 2 recumbent and 1 upright bike from Precor, USA, 2 arc trainers from Cybex, USA & one stepper from Cybex, USA and 1 rowing machine from Concept. The strength training section is from Cybex Eagle Series and Nautilus Nitro Plus, USA with free weights from Cybex, USA. Additional facilities includes steam, massages and a juice bar.
At Gold's Gym, you'll find state-of-the-art circuits and cardiovascular equipment, free weights, and cutting edge group classes such as spinning and aerobics.
With certified trainers and nutritional counseling, Gold's Gym provides a comprehensive approach to the health and well-being of its members. Whether your goal is to burn fat, tone or add muscle, build strength, increase flexibility or improve your cardiovascular health, only Gold's Gym has the atmosphere and experience you need.
Mr. Noel Menezes,-Manager Operations -Franchising Gold's Gym informs "India's biggest fitness lovers work out at our gym. We are happy to announce the launch of yet another branch, where the residents of Guwahati finally get to utilize our services".
Adds Mr. Nikhil Kakkar, Franchising Incharge North & East - Gold's Gym, "Globally, health and fitness is a growing business. We, at Gold's Gym have made a constant effort to increase our branches all over India, so that everyone gets access to an International chain of fitness centres"
Gold's Gym has not only achieved stupendous success internationally, but has also made its mark in India and its cities successfully. Today Gold's is the largest international gym chain with over 700 facilities worldwide. Internationally, Gold's Gym has been immortalized by the acknowledgement of icons such as Arnold Schwazzeneger and Madonna. Sohail Khan, Rahul Khanna, Riteish Deshmukh, Diya Mirza, John Abraham & Bipasha Basu and upcoming star Ranbir Kapoor are some of famous celebrities using Gold's Gym facilities.
44 years of dedicated hard work to help people integrate fitness into their daily stressed out lives has been the utmost priority at Gold's.
In today's fast-paced lives where health often takes a backseat, its time one began to give their bodies their due. So, do come and join Gold's Gym, Guwahati.
Notes to Editor
About Gold's Gym India:
Gold's Gym started in Venice California in 1965, and soon became the hotbed for the development of training techniques, equipment and nutritional concepts that formed the foundation for the modern fitness revolution. In 1975, Gold's Gym received international attention when it was featured in the major motion picture, 'Pumping Iron'. It was thus effectively established as the 'Mecca of Bodybuilding'.
Today, Gold's Gym has over 700 facilities. It is the largest international gym chain in the world recognized for its passion, unique heritage, and experience as the final authority in fitness and lifestyle.
The India chapter of Gold's Gym started in 2002, when the first Gold's Gym India branch was set up at Napean Sea Road, Mumbai. In the next few years this number grew, and today Gold's Gym has cut out for itself 41 gym facilities in various cities of the country like Mumbai - at Nepean Sea Road, Bandra, Santacruz, Andheri, Chembur, Mulund, Vashi, Kandivali , Goregaon , Lower Parel- Express. Outside Mumbai at - Ahmedabad, Baroda, Kolkata, Bangalore, Pune ,Delhi, Faridabad, Indore, Jaipur, Udaipur, Guwahati, Ludhiana, Kolhapur, Lucknow, Mohali , Amritsar, Nashik, Coimbatore, Hubli, Gurgaon, Noida, Jalandhar, Secundrabad, Surat and outside India in Dhaka, Bangladesh .
Gold's Gym India is the First Master Franchisee to be given a 20 years extension on the Master Franchise rights for South Asia
- India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka & Maldives.
- We have now acquired the Master Franchise rights for Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.
Promoted by partners Jagdish K Valecha, Rajesh Advani and G. Ramachandran, Gold's Gym India has slowly and steadily carved its name in the Indian market and built a reputation to reckon with.
Globally, Gold's Gym is acknowledged for its unrivalled success in providing the finest equipment and fitness knowledge available to help its members achieve their individual potential. It follows a globally proven fitness training module with state-of-the-art infrastructure and delivery methodology and continuous up gradation through training programs. With certified trainers and nutritional counseling, Gold's Gym provides a comprehensive approach to the health and well being of its member. Whether your goal is to burn fat, tone or add muscle, build strength, increase flexibility or improve your cardiovascular health, only Gold's Gym has the atmosphere and experience you need Gold's Gym also undertakes managing corporate gyms and providing personalized training to hi-network individuals at their residences.
Tags:Gold's Gym India,fitness franchise, franchise guwahati, international gym chain,master franchisee,jagdish valecha, rajesh advani, G Ramachandran,unisex gyms,best gym franchise
Source:India Pr Wire.
Challenges Of Health Care Service Franchise In India: The Apollo Clinics
I came across a piece co-authored by my former colleague Ratan Jalan in ‘Marketing Health Services’ (Eye on The Indian Market, Spring 2009 edition)of the prestigious journal of the American Marketing Association. I have known Mr. Jalan since he hired me to work for him at Apollo Health and Lifestyle Ltd., many years ago and hugely respect his scholarship and knowledge about the business of healthcare in India. However, I must confess that I do not quite agree with Mr. Jalan’s portrayal of the opportunities in franchising healthcare services in India and his conclusions about Apollo Health and Lifestyle’s successful franchising of the Apollo Clinics.
Apollo Hospitals is one of the largest chain of hospitals in India. It has in its network more than 41 hospitals and manages over 8000 beds mostly in the secondary and the tertiary healthcare space. I met Ratan in the year 2001, when he was setting up Apollo Health and Lifestyle, which was to get into franchising of the Ápollo Clinics, the primary healthcare services chain, which were supposed to complement Apollo’s large secondary and tertiary care network. These clinics were envisaged as a franchised operations, supported by the Apollo Hospitals group. They were to leverage Apollo’s excellent brand equity and knowledge about the healthcare in India and help franchisees run a profitable enterprise.
The Apollo Clinics were well conceived. The service mix was essentially OPD consultations, a collection centre for pathology samples, radiology services (X-Ray, Ultrasound) and basic cardiology diagnostics (ECG, TMT and Echo). The clinics also had a 24 hour pharmacy and basic preventive health packages were also offered. We worked hard on the look and feel of the clinic (Ratan had Alfaz Miller design the clinic interiors), Ravi Bajaj was to do the staff uniforms, and the clinics were to hire smart and well-trained youngsters to be the face of the clinics. The consultants were to from the local areas and it was thought that Apollo Hospital’s senior consultants will also run their OPD’s from these clinics.
On the business side of things a franchisee needed to invest close to Rs. 20 MN upfront. The business plan included a fixed percentage payout by the franchisee of the revenue that he made. Apollo was to handhold the franchisee through the setting up of the clinic, purchase of medical equipment, development of the software to run the clinic, recruitment of the employees both medical and non medical, and selection of doctors. Apollo was also to provide an exhaustive set of instructions and guidelines on the management of the clinic to the franchisees and it was responsible for monitoring the quality of the services delivered at these clinics.
While on paper the model looks perfect, it has some serious infirmities.
A franchised operation by definition has to be a replication of an existing successful model. In Apollo’s case, they had nothing to show in the area of Primary Healthcare. They used to run a clinic in Mumbai, which they owned. Just about the time Apollo decided to go the franchise route, their own clinic shut shop. It was losing money hand over fist and the management decided to shut it down.
In the franchised model that was now envisaged Apollo had no financial stake. The money was to be put up by the franchisee, he was to bear all the costs including a revenue share with Apollo and it was not clear how Apollo will contribute to bringing in new patients to the clinic. It was expected that Apollo’s name itself will pull in patients. Thus the franchisee was to fend for himself as far as developing the business was concerned. Apollo could have contributed by investing in the brand ‘Ápollo Clinics’ and by forcing some of its leading doctors to run the OPD’s from the franchised clinics. Apollo made lofty promises of investing millions in the brand but just didn’t. As far as doctors were concerned, some feeble attempts were made to get Apollo doctors to attend these clinics but hardly anything materialised. The problem really was that in Apollo system the senior doctors are not paid firm salaries and they work on a revenue share model. Thus, Apollo’s control over these doctors is minimal. The senior doctors with a busy practice had no reason to sit in the newly opened Apollo Clinics, which in any case did not have any patients of their own.
The selection of the franchisees too threw up issues. The franchisees were largely businessmen with hardly any experience of healthcare. Neither did they have any particular love or passion for the healthcare business. I remember meeting and offering franchises to computer hardware merchants, aluminium dealers, a golf ball manufacturer, a real estate player and the like. All of them were driven purely by a profit motive. Some also saw healthcare as a more respectable business for their children. We sold the franchises indiscriminately, (at least in the beginning) to anyone willing to put up the money. A network was thus born that had no glue except the brand name that each franchise shared with the other.
The biggest casualty in all this was of course the quality of healthcare services that each clinic rendered. There was no uniformity as each franchisee left to fend for himself became increasingly desperate for revenue. He hired doctors on his own many of dubious quality, started offering cuts for referrals, set his own prices and started indulging in all kinds of practices that would help him get the extra money that he needed to stay afloat. As most of these franchises were not businessmen with deep pockets, they were willing to cut corners as their very survival was at stake. In-spite of all this many had to close down operations.
Apollo gradually lost control over these franchises. Since, it did not add any value to the franchise’s life he decided not to pay the monthly royalty. Many refused access to Apollo personnel on their premises and are now pretty much operating as stand-alone entities. They continue to use the Apollo name, as that is the only thing, which adds value to their operations.
Creating a franchised healthcare network is fraught with danger. Apollo failed by not first establishing a successful chain of primary healthcare centres of its own. It had no proven learnings in that space and it undertook to make money at its franchisee’s cost. It lost the trust of not only its franchisees, but also of many of its patients who certainly expected a lot better from Apollo.
Tags:Apollo Franchise, Healthcare franchise, franchising healthcare, successful franchising, Apollo Clinics, franchised operations, Ratan Jalan, alfaz miller,ravi bajaj,franchised model,franchised clinics,
Source: Ana's Weblog: The Apollo Clinics-The Perils of Franchising Healthcare Services in India.
Apollo Hospitals is one of the largest chain of hospitals in India. It has in its network more than 41 hospitals and manages over 8000 beds mostly in the secondary and the tertiary healthcare space. I met Ratan in the year 2001, when he was setting up Apollo Health and Lifestyle, which was to get into franchising of the Ápollo Clinics, the primary healthcare services chain, which were supposed to complement Apollo’s large secondary and tertiary care network. These clinics were envisaged as a franchised operations, supported by the Apollo Hospitals group. They were to leverage Apollo’s excellent brand equity and knowledge about the healthcare in India and help franchisees run a profitable enterprise.
The Apollo Clinics were well conceived. The service mix was essentially OPD consultations, a collection centre for pathology samples, radiology services (X-Ray, Ultrasound) and basic cardiology diagnostics (ECG, TMT and Echo). The clinics also had a 24 hour pharmacy and basic preventive health packages were also offered. We worked hard on the look and feel of the clinic (Ratan had Alfaz Miller design the clinic interiors), Ravi Bajaj was to do the staff uniforms, and the clinics were to hire smart and well-trained youngsters to be the face of the clinics. The consultants were to from the local areas and it was thought that Apollo Hospital’s senior consultants will also run their OPD’s from these clinics.
On the business side of things a franchisee needed to invest close to Rs. 20 MN upfront. The business plan included a fixed percentage payout by the franchisee of the revenue that he made. Apollo was to handhold the franchisee through the setting up of the clinic, purchase of medical equipment, development of the software to run the clinic, recruitment of the employees both medical and non medical, and selection of doctors. Apollo was also to provide an exhaustive set of instructions and guidelines on the management of the clinic to the franchisees and it was responsible for monitoring the quality of the services delivered at these clinics.
While on paper the model looks perfect, it has some serious infirmities.
A franchised operation by definition has to be a replication of an existing successful model. In Apollo’s case, they had nothing to show in the area of Primary Healthcare. They used to run a clinic in Mumbai, which they owned. Just about the time Apollo decided to go the franchise route, their own clinic shut shop. It was losing money hand over fist and the management decided to shut it down.
In the franchised model that was now envisaged Apollo had no financial stake. The money was to be put up by the franchisee, he was to bear all the costs including a revenue share with Apollo and it was not clear how Apollo will contribute to bringing in new patients to the clinic. It was expected that Apollo’s name itself will pull in patients. Thus the franchisee was to fend for himself as far as developing the business was concerned. Apollo could have contributed by investing in the brand ‘Ápollo Clinics’ and by forcing some of its leading doctors to run the OPD’s from the franchised clinics. Apollo made lofty promises of investing millions in the brand but just didn’t. As far as doctors were concerned, some feeble attempts were made to get Apollo doctors to attend these clinics but hardly anything materialised. The problem really was that in Apollo system the senior doctors are not paid firm salaries and they work on a revenue share model. Thus, Apollo’s control over these doctors is minimal. The senior doctors with a busy practice had no reason to sit in the newly opened Apollo Clinics, which in any case did not have any patients of their own.
The selection of the franchisees too threw up issues. The franchisees were largely businessmen with hardly any experience of healthcare. Neither did they have any particular love or passion for the healthcare business. I remember meeting and offering franchises to computer hardware merchants, aluminium dealers, a golf ball manufacturer, a real estate player and the like. All of them were driven purely by a profit motive. Some also saw healthcare as a more respectable business for their children. We sold the franchises indiscriminately, (at least in the beginning) to anyone willing to put up the money. A network was thus born that had no glue except the brand name that each franchise shared with the other.
The biggest casualty in all this was of course the quality of healthcare services that each clinic rendered. There was no uniformity as each franchisee left to fend for himself became increasingly desperate for revenue. He hired doctors on his own many of dubious quality, started offering cuts for referrals, set his own prices and started indulging in all kinds of practices that would help him get the extra money that he needed to stay afloat. As most of these franchises were not businessmen with deep pockets, they were willing to cut corners as their very survival was at stake. In-spite of all this many had to close down operations.
Apollo gradually lost control over these franchises. Since, it did not add any value to the franchise’s life he decided not to pay the monthly royalty. Many refused access to Apollo personnel on their premises and are now pretty much operating as stand-alone entities. They continue to use the Apollo name, as that is the only thing, which adds value to their operations.
Creating a franchised healthcare network is fraught with danger. Apollo failed by not first establishing a successful chain of primary healthcare centres of its own. It had no proven learnings in that space and it undertook to make money at its franchisee’s cost. It lost the trust of not only its franchisees, but also of many of its patients who certainly expected a lot better from Apollo.
Tags:Apollo Franchise, Healthcare franchise, franchising healthcare, successful franchising, Apollo Clinics, franchised operations, Ratan Jalan, alfaz miller,ravi bajaj,franchised model,franchised clinics,
Source: Ana's Weblog: The Apollo Clinics-The Perils of Franchising Healthcare Services in India.
Are You Seeking A Pie In The Growth Of Franchise Industry In India.
Though franchise companies represent a small portion of all US business, the franchise industry is big. In the United States, there are over 2,500 franchise systems, with more than 534,000 franchise units, which represent slightly more than three percent of US businesses. Yet that small percentage generates 35 percent of the retail and service revenue in the U.S. economy.
With franchise-related products and services estimated at $800 US billion annually, international demand for franchise brand name products and services is creating huge opportunities for American companies to expand overseas.
India, which has a growing middle-class of over one billion people, is now positioned as a major force in the global economy and fertile ground for investment in retail and business development. The franchising industry in India is expected to grow at an annual rate of 30 percent, and to drive the country’s current $330 retail sector even higher. In 2007, more than 750 national and international franchisors were operating in India, employing millions of people, and generating revenues in excess of $3 US million.
The industries cited as the top prospects for successful franchise opportunities in India include:
* Food and beverage
* Education
* Apparel
* Entertainment
* Courier Services
* Stationery and gift shops
* Health and beauty
* Fitness and nutrition
Many of the world’s largest and well-known franchise companies, such as UPS India, McDonald’s, Yum Brands, Baskin Robbins and Subway already have a visible presence in India. Other US companies, from diverse industry sectors, are now gaining a foothold too.
With India’s retail sector growing at more than eight percent a year, The Dollar Store is actively seeking franchisees. This retail chain, based in Florida, USA, sells low-priced general merchandise products and services. India is just one of the geographical areas targeted for the company’s multi-million dollar overseas business expansion.
And there are some surprising entries to franchising in India too, which at first glance, might not seem like a logical fit with traditional Indian culture and consumers.
Contours Express launched its first Indian center in Bangalore, with a second location in Mumbai. The company has 700 fitness centres for women in the U.S and additional locations across 24 countries, and plans to have at least 1000 Contours clubs operating around the world.
Pizza Corner aims to open 36 stores in India, and is extending efforts to expand in Sri Lanka, Nepal and Singapore.
Golf USA has grown to almost 100 stores in 32 states and 6 foreign countries; and is actively seeking entrepreneurs to operate stores in India.
According to statistics from the Franchising Association of India, franchises currently account for only two percent of retail revenues in India compared to almost 50 percent in the US. However, that two percent is growing at a fast pace, and the implications point to astounding market potential. The success rate for individual franchise business owners in the US is 92 percent, and since franchise businesses are based on proven systems, the success rate for Indian franchises should be comparable.
Franchising has a great future in India due to the convergence of many factors:
* The average Indian income is steadily rising and individuals have more purchasing power.
* Telecommunications and transportation infrastructure improvements facilitate the exchange of information and goods.
* Increasing levels of consumer spending, with greater recognition of brand value.
* Internet access is opening the world to India, making its population more aware of global trends and brands. And conversely, the Internet is making it easier for international companies to gain an understanding of India’ culture, geography and politics.
Tags:Courier Services, Retail Chain, franchise companies, dollar stores, contours express, Pizza Corner, Golf USA, Franchising Association Of India, Franchise Business, franchise related, franchise units.
With franchise-related products and services estimated at $800 US billion annually, international demand for franchise brand name products and services is creating huge opportunities for American companies to expand overseas.
India, which has a growing middle-class of over one billion people, is now positioned as a major force in the global economy and fertile ground for investment in retail and business development. The franchising industry in India is expected to grow at an annual rate of 30 percent, and to drive the country’s current $330 retail sector even higher. In 2007, more than 750 national and international franchisors were operating in India, employing millions of people, and generating revenues in excess of $3 US million.
The industries cited as the top prospects for successful franchise opportunities in India include:
* Food and beverage
* Education
* Apparel
* Entertainment
* Courier Services
* Stationery and gift shops
* Health and beauty
* Fitness and nutrition
Many of the world’s largest and well-known franchise companies, such as UPS India, McDonald’s, Yum Brands, Baskin Robbins and Subway already have a visible presence in India. Other US companies, from diverse industry sectors, are now gaining a foothold too.
With India’s retail sector growing at more than eight percent a year, The Dollar Store is actively seeking franchisees. This retail chain, based in Florida, USA, sells low-priced general merchandise products and services. India is just one of the geographical areas targeted for the company’s multi-million dollar overseas business expansion.
And there are some surprising entries to franchising in India too, which at first glance, might not seem like a logical fit with traditional Indian culture and consumers.
Contours Express launched its first Indian center in Bangalore, with a second location in Mumbai. The company has 700 fitness centres for women in the U.S and additional locations across 24 countries, and plans to have at least 1000 Contours clubs operating around the world.
Pizza Corner aims to open 36 stores in India, and is extending efforts to expand in Sri Lanka, Nepal and Singapore.
Golf USA has grown to almost 100 stores in 32 states and 6 foreign countries; and is actively seeking entrepreneurs to operate stores in India.
According to statistics from the Franchising Association of India, franchises currently account for only two percent of retail revenues in India compared to almost 50 percent in the US. However, that two percent is growing at a fast pace, and the implications point to astounding market potential. The success rate for individual franchise business owners in the US is 92 percent, and since franchise businesses are based on proven systems, the success rate for Indian franchises should be comparable.
Franchising has a great future in India due to the convergence of many factors:
* The average Indian income is steadily rising and individuals have more purchasing power.
* Telecommunications and transportation infrastructure improvements facilitate the exchange of information and goods.
* Increasing levels of consumer spending, with greater recognition of brand value.
* Internet access is opening the world to India, making its population more aware of global trends and brands. And conversely, the Internet is making it easier for international companies to gain an understanding of India’ culture, geography and politics.
Tags:Courier Services, Retail Chain, franchise companies, dollar stores, contours express, Pizza Corner, Golf USA, Franchising Association Of India, Franchise Business, franchise related, franchise units.
Veta English Speaking Franchise Looks at Expansion in Delhi and North India Aggressively.
May 03, 2010
Veta, Asia’s largest spoken English training academy and a brand owned by Amoha Education (P) Ltd, has announced plans to open 80 franchise centres across north Indian states and 20 company-owned centres in Delhi-NCR region this fiscal. The company’s franchise centres would come up in states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Each centre will be established with an investment of Rs 20-30 lakh depending on the location, city and rental advance, according to its top official.
Announcing the expansion plans, K V Rajan, executive director, Veta said, “New Delhi presumed as an administrative capital of the country is in the verge of transforming itself into a large commercial hub in Asia through new developments taking place in the existing business sector. The economy of north India as a whole is also booming through the establishment of new industries coming up in the region. These developments ensure that there is a constant need to develop and polish the spoken English skills that is so much a requirement today.”
“A total investment of Rs 22 crore has been earmarked for expansion. Amoha Education (P) Ltd will invest Rs 6 crore, while the remaining Rs 16 crore will be invested by the franchisees. We are sure this venture would be a success, since the domestic education learning market is poised for growth at a fast pace. We are also planning aggressive marketing campaigns in the next fiscal to increase the connectivity to our target group. In view of this we have tied-up with best in class marketing experts in the industry,” adds Rajan.
To strengthen its aggressive expansion plans, Veta recently roped in James Walter Thomson (JWT) for the creative services and Mind Share for the media services
Tags:VETA, English Franchise, Language Franchise, English Training Franchise,K V Rajan, Amoha Education, Education Franchise, Women Franchise, Training Franchise,
top franchise,
Veta, Asia’s largest spoken English training academy and a brand owned by Amoha Education (P) Ltd, has announced plans to open 80 franchise centres across north Indian states and 20 company-owned centres in Delhi-NCR region this fiscal. The company’s franchise centres would come up in states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Each centre will be established with an investment of Rs 20-30 lakh depending on the location, city and rental advance, according to its top official.
Announcing the expansion plans, K V Rajan, executive director, Veta said, “New Delhi presumed as an administrative capital of the country is in the verge of transforming itself into a large commercial hub in Asia through new developments taking place in the existing business sector. The economy of north India as a whole is also booming through the establishment of new industries coming up in the region. These developments ensure that there is a constant need to develop and polish the spoken English skills that is so much a requirement today.”
“A total investment of Rs 22 crore has been earmarked for expansion. Amoha Education (P) Ltd will invest Rs 6 crore, while the remaining Rs 16 crore will be invested by the franchisees. We are sure this venture would be a success, since the domestic education learning market is poised for growth at a fast pace. We are also planning aggressive marketing campaigns in the next fiscal to increase the connectivity to our target group. In view of this we have tied-up with best in class marketing experts in the industry,” adds Rajan.
To strengthen its aggressive expansion plans, Veta recently roped in James Walter Thomson (JWT) for the creative services and Mind Share for the media services
Tags:VETA, English Franchise, Language Franchise, English Training Franchise,K V Rajan, Amoha Education, Education Franchise, Women Franchise, Training Franchise,
top franchise,
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Remax:The Worlds No 1 Real Estate Franchise
Global Real Estate Franchise Celebrates Success
Denver, CO – Feb. 4, 2010 – RE/MAX International, Inc., celebrated Founders Day on Jan. 30th - the day in 1973 that Dave and Gail Liniger co-founded the now international franchise real estate network - with marked appreciation for the road traveled in 2009. While the U.S. housing market struggled most of last year, RE/MAX sold 630 new franchises and launched in seven new countries, expanding its global footprint to more than 75 countries.
“We couldn?t be more proud of nearly four decades of accomplishments, and we?re just as proud of the success we saw in 2009,” said Margaret Kelly, Chief Executive Officer of RE/MAX International, who made several appearances on national television throughout the year as spokesperson for the industry. “The entire RE/MAX network went to work last year to help homeowners and homebuyers navigate some pretty difficult waters. RE/MAX agents committed themselves to education and training that gave them the expertise to deal with distressed properties, training that put them a step ahead of the competition.”
While RE/MAX agents were training in Short Sales and foreclosures, RE/MAX executives worked with policy makers in Washington to promote the extension/expansion of the Homebuyer Tax Credit and Short Sale reforms that analysts believe could fuel a stronger market rebound.
“As the most recognized name in real estate, RE/MAX is seen as an influential industry leader and consumers rely upon our agents as trusted advisors,” said Kelly.
For its success, RE/MAX International was recognized as the No. 1 real estate franchise in the 2009 Franchise Times Top 200, and was ranked in three separate categories in the Entrepreneur
magazine “Franchise 500 Survey,” which has designated RE/MAX as the top real estate franchise for nine of the past 11 years.
RE/MAX marked other major milestones and successes:
* RE/MAX leads the industry with more than 58% of all Certified Distressed Property Experts (CDPE) in the U.S., certifying 10,000 RE/MAX agents in just nine months.
* RE/MAX launched a redesigned, more comprehensive version of its popular remax.com, which remains the most visited real estate franchise Web site.
* RE/MAX LeadStreet has connected seven million online consumers to RE/MAX agents.
* RE/MAX dominated national TV advertising, with a campaign that included the popular “straight-talk” commercials, featuring CEO Margaret Kelly, and reaching more viewers than all competitor ads combined. A new “straight-talk” series debuted this month.
* RE/MAX was again recognized as a Top Military Spouse Friendly Employer by Military Spouse Magazine and was also named by G.I. Jobs magazine as a “Top 100 Military Friendly Employer” and a “Top Military Friendly Franchise.”
* RE/MAX University registered over 10,000 Associates for comprehensive educational programming offered in 2009 – an impressive „first? for the award-winning RE/MAX training and education platform.
* Despite the recession, RE/MAX continued local charitable efforts and fundraising through the company?s national sponsorship of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure® program and Children?s Miracle Network. RE/MAX offices and agents are closing in on the $100 million lifetime donor mark for Children?s Miracle Network, making RE/MAX one of only two organizations to ever reach such a milestone.
RE/MAX is ushering in 2010 with added momentum and will celebrate this year?s accomplishments with thousands of its agents from around the world at the 2010 RE/MAX International Convention in Orlando, Feb. 28 – March 3.
With expanded, internationally honored education, advanced technology and top-producing agents around the globe, RE/MAX is positioned for another record-setting year with much hope for a steady housing recovery.
About REMAX International, Inc.
RE/MAX was founded in 1973 by Dave and Gail Liniger. From a single office in Denver, Colorado, it has grown into a global network of nearly 100,000 Sales Associates in more than 75 countries, an international presence greater than any of its competitors. Nobody in the world sells more real estate than RE/MAX.
RE/MAX has been honored as the top real estate franchise in “The 2009 Franchise Times Top 200,” and has held the No. 1 position for 9 of the last 11 years in “The Franchise 500 Survey,” published by Entrepreneur magazine.
Today, all U.S. home listings in thousands of cities and towns can be found at www.remax.com, the most visited real estate franchise Web site. (ComScore, Jan.-Dec. 2009; Compete.com, Feb. 2008-Dec.2009; Hitwise, Jan.-Nov. 2009)
RE/MAX International is proud of its Premier Community Citizenship, which has raised over $100 million for deserving organizations such as Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, Children?s Miracle Network and The Sentinels of Freedom Foundation.
Denver, CO – Feb. 4, 2010 – RE/MAX International, Inc., celebrated Founders Day on Jan. 30th - the day in 1973 that Dave and Gail Liniger co-founded the now international franchise real estate network - with marked appreciation for the road traveled in 2009. While the U.S. housing market struggled most of last year, RE/MAX sold 630 new franchises and launched in seven new countries, expanding its global footprint to more than 75 countries.
“We couldn?t be more proud of nearly four decades of accomplishments, and we?re just as proud of the success we saw in 2009,” said Margaret Kelly, Chief Executive Officer of RE/MAX International, who made several appearances on national television throughout the year as spokesperson for the industry. “The entire RE/MAX network went to work last year to help homeowners and homebuyers navigate some pretty difficult waters. RE/MAX agents committed themselves to education and training that gave them the expertise to deal with distressed properties, training that put them a step ahead of the competition.”
While RE/MAX agents were training in Short Sales and foreclosures, RE/MAX executives worked with policy makers in Washington to promote the extension/expansion of the Homebuyer Tax Credit and Short Sale reforms that analysts believe could fuel a stronger market rebound.
“As the most recognized name in real estate, RE/MAX is seen as an influential industry leader and consumers rely upon our agents as trusted advisors,” said Kelly.
For its success, RE/MAX International was recognized as the No. 1 real estate franchise in the 2009 Franchise Times Top 200, and was ranked in three separate categories in the Entrepreneur
magazine “Franchise 500 Survey,” which has designated RE/MAX as the top real estate franchise for nine of the past 11 years.
RE/MAX marked other major milestones and successes:
* RE/MAX leads the industry with more than 58% of all Certified Distressed Property Experts (CDPE) in the U.S., certifying 10,000 RE/MAX agents in just nine months.
* RE/MAX launched a redesigned, more comprehensive version of its popular remax.com, which remains the most visited real estate franchise Web site.
* RE/MAX LeadStreet has connected seven million online consumers to RE/MAX agents.
* RE/MAX dominated national TV advertising, with a campaign that included the popular “straight-talk” commercials, featuring CEO Margaret Kelly, and reaching more viewers than all competitor ads combined. A new “straight-talk” series debuted this month.
* RE/MAX was again recognized as a Top Military Spouse Friendly Employer by Military Spouse Magazine and was also named by G.I. Jobs magazine as a “Top 100 Military Friendly Employer” and a “Top Military Friendly Franchise.”
* RE/MAX University registered over 10,000 Associates for comprehensive educational programming offered in 2009 – an impressive „first? for the award-winning RE/MAX training and education platform.
* Despite the recession, RE/MAX continued local charitable efforts and fundraising through the company?s national sponsorship of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure® program and Children?s Miracle Network. RE/MAX offices and agents are closing in on the $100 million lifetime donor mark for Children?s Miracle Network, making RE/MAX one of only two organizations to ever reach such a milestone.
RE/MAX is ushering in 2010 with added momentum and will celebrate this year?s accomplishments with thousands of its agents from around the world at the 2010 RE/MAX International Convention in Orlando, Feb. 28 – March 3.
With expanded, internationally honored education, advanced technology and top-producing agents around the globe, RE/MAX is positioned for another record-setting year with much hope for a steady housing recovery.
About REMAX International, Inc.
RE/MAX was founded in 1973 by Dave and Gail Liniger. From a single office in Denver, Colorado, it has grown into a global network of nearly 100,000 Sales Associates in more than 75 countries, an international presence greater than any of its competitors. Nobody in the world sells more real estate than RE/MAX.
RE/MAX has been honored as the top real estate franchise in “The 2009 Franchise Times Top 200,” and has held the No. 1 position for 9 of the last 11 years in “The Franchise 500 Survey,” published by Entrepreneur magazine.
Today, all U.S. home listings in thousands of cities and towns can be found at www.remax.com, the most visited real estate franchise Web site. (ComScore, Jan.-Dec. 2009; Compete.com, Feb. 2008-Dec.2009; Hitwise, Jan.-Nov. 2009)
RE/MAX International is proud of its Premier Community Citizenship, which has raised over $100 million for deserving organizations such as Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, Children?s Miracle Network and The Sentinels of Freedom Foundation.
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