ZICA Expands it Animation Franchise Portfolio and Looks at expanding its education training franchise agressively

With the demand for animators growing in India, Zee Institute of Creative Arts (ZICA), a Zee Network company, is in the expansion mode.

The company is all set to open 35 more franchises by the end of this year across the country. "Our assessment shows there is demand for nearly 300,000 animators in the country by 2013. Keeping this in mind, we are opening nearly 35 more franchises in the country," said Atul Sharma Regional Marketing Manager of the company.

After opening its centres in major cities, ZICA, a classical and digital training institute in animation, is now expanding in tier-II cities like Dehra Dun.

The company, which is presently running nearly 28 franchises in India, has also opened its first centre in Dehra Dun to start 12 courses offering degrees, diplomas and certificates in 2D and 3D animation, visual effects and gaming.

Tags:ZICA, Zee Institute Of Creative Arts, Zee Franchise, animation franchise, atul sharma, training institute franchise, Training Franchise,3d animation franchise, Gaming Franchise.

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Tags:India franchise blog, india blog, franchise blog, franchise india blog, india franchising blog, india franchise bloggers, blogging on indian franchising, blog on india franchise

Using China Business Strategy To Grow Business In India: Adopting Different Country Learnings

With the world globalizing and inter-country collobaration is on its highest ever there are learnings that are transfered from one region to the other.When multinational brands entered and tried to conquer market share in the Middle Kingdom 20 years ago, they encountered the same problems they face in India now – how does one market effectively to such a diverse market, where statistics are unreliable and tastes change often, yet sell in a value driven economy? In lieu of encountering a similar market in the same region with alike issues, many companies are replicating best management practices adopted successfully in China in the Indian market.

With economic and cultural similarities and purchasing decisions aligned, marketing managers across multinational companies are bringing their best marketing and distribution ideas tried and tested in China to India.  Take Coca Cola for example, known for its revolutionary, fierce and strong branding, the company recently asked its independent franchisee bottlers in India to weigh a new distribution and manufacturing model it follows in China. The new model involves pooling investments and setting up common manufacturing capacities, and would mainly be for non-carbonated drinks. The Atlanta-based beverage maker’s top brass discussed benefits of shared resources and pooling investments with its franchisee bottlers last month in Shanghai, China

Under the proposal, independent bottlers would split their investments and share the returns equally among themselves. As bottling investments take about five-six years to bring returns, the move would help the bottlers in freeing large amount of money, a model that is expected to work in nations like China and India where distribution of aerated drinks in a problem and large investments are hard to come by.

Hence it is interested to see how these new strategies define the way businesses are transacted in the coming times in these developing countries and how these business expansion strategies, will unfold in the coming times.

Tags:Business Strategy, Expand Business, Grow Business, Business Consultants, franchise consultants, how to expand business, business expansion strategies, franchise recruitment, franchise development,

This Blog/Information/News Item/Press Release has been posted by Sparkleminds, A Franchise Consulting Company Based at Bangalore,India, Offering Complete Franchise Solutions Nationally and Internationally for more than a decade now.Visit www.sparkleminds.com for more details.

Amul Slows Down On Its Franchise Expansion Of Retail Outlets Over Last Fiscal

Utterly Butterly Slowly

The Amul girl seems to have slowed down. The aggressive retail expansion drive launched by the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which owns and markets the Amul and Sagar brand of milk and milk products, has lost momentum.

Amul could add only 700-800 retail parlours in fiscal 2009-10, which was a marked slowdown from the previous year’s addition of 2,000 outlets. As a result, the total number of operational Amul Preferred Outlets (APO) is only 5,000, which is exactly half the original target of having 10,000 retail outlets.

The target was set by GCMMF Chairman Parthi Bhatol while addressing Amul’s 35th annual general meeting. "Taking a cue from the success of our parlours, we plan to add 6,000 more such outlets by the end of 2009-10, taking the total tally to 10,000", Bhatol had said. What Amul finally achieved in the financial year was a shade over 10 per cent of that target.

The ambitious expansion plan was triggered by the rapid addition of 2,000 retail outlets in FY 2008-09. Amul had a total of 4,300 operational retail parlours in 2008-09.

"The retail expansion has slowed down," says a GCMMF board member, who did not want to be quoted.

An email sent to GCMMF seeking reasons for the slowing down of retail expansion remained unanswered, but an executive says the expansion was hampered by the general economic downturn in 2009-10.

Though it has missed its original target by a long shot, Amul seems to be satisfied with the progress. "It is not just a number game. Setting up a network of 10,000 outlets is a mammoth task. Amul added two outlets every day across the country, while others were closing down their retail stores in 2009-10 in the wake of the recession," the official says.

The parlours are run on franchise-based model and GCMMF says the recessionary phase in 2009-10 led to a decline in the investment appetite of its franchise partners.

In order to rapidly increase the number of its retail outlets, Amul had identified locations such as railways, airports and posh areas in major cities. "Rolling out retail parlours at railway stations requires specific approvals and sometimes the launch gets affected due to delays in receiving approvals," Bhatol says. Amul currently has around 150 retail stalls at various railway stations across the country and had planned to add 300 more in 2009-10.

Amul officials also maintain that setting up scooping parlours, which sell Amul ice-cream, in posh areas of Mumbai, Delhi and other metros is time-consuming as it is difficult to find suitable locations at affordable prices in these cities. GCMMF at present operates 400 such parlours across India.

The slow pace of expansion, however, has not affected the performance of the company. Revenue from retail operations surged to Rs 300 crore in 2009-10 from Rs 200 crore and Rs 107 crore in 2008-09 and 2007-08 respectively.

Amul, say officials, is back into the growth mode this year and would have 10,000 outlets by the end of fiscal 2010-11. "So far, we have approved 6,381 retail outlets, of which 5,000 are operational and the rest will soon start working," the official says.

What may help is the fact that the long uncertainty following the battle for power at GCMMF has finally ended, as the move to replace Bhatol as chairman was defeated late last month. A board meeting, called to decide on a no-confidence motion against Bhatol, was cancelled after all the 13 board members except Bhatol stayed away. Ten board members had issued the motion, claiming they had lost faith in Bhatol’s leadership, but did not vote against him when the time came.

The Rs 8,000 crore cooperative has at least three million members from 12,000 villages across the state. Bhatol became its chairman in 2006 after then board members, including him, passed a no-confidence motion against founder-chairman Verghese Kurien

Tags:Amul Franchise, Sagar Franchise, Amul Preferred Outlets,(APO), Parthi Bhatol, GCMMF, franchise-based model, railway station franchise, Amul Ice Cream Franchise,Verghese Kurien, Dairy Franchise,

Source: Sify Finance, Kalpesh Damor ,2010-09-06 00:50:00


This Blog/Information/News Item/Press Release has been posted by Sparkleminds, A Franchise Consulting Company Based at Bangalore,India, Offering Complete Franchise Solutions Nationally and Internationally for more than a decade now.Visit www.sparkleminds.com for more details.

Pizza Hut Franchise Named The Most Trusted Food Service Brand by Economic Times (India) Brand Equity For 2010

KFC India Receives Recognition in Top Food Service Brands

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -(// BUSINESS WIRE //)- The Economic Times' (India) Brand Equity Most Trusted Brands 2010 annual survey has named Pizza Hut the "Most Trusted Food Service Brand' in India for the sixth year, ahead of all other Indian and global food service brands. Pizza Hut is also the only restaurant company to place in the Top 20 Service Brands list. KFC India was recognized for the first time by the survey with a spot in the top five of trusted food service brands. Pizza Hut and KFC India are part of Yum! Restaurants International (YRI), a division of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM), the world's largest restaurant company in terms of system units.

"Congratulations to our entire team in India," said Graham Allan, Chief Executive Officer, Yum! Restaurants International. "To be recognized for the sixth year as the most trusted food service brand is a true testament to our employees and franchisees. Their hard work, passion and professionalism have been instrumental in making Pizza Hut and KFC leaders in the food service rankings. India is an important emerging market for us. Both Pizza Hut and KFC are proving very popular with consumers and we recently introduced Taco Bell to India with a restaurant in Bangalore. We continue to make significant investments in India as part of our plan to capitalize on this large and rapidly growing market of more than 1 billion people," added Allan.

The Brand Equity Most Trusted Brands Survey, which appears in The Economic Times' September 1 edition, ranks the brands that have earned the trust and loyalty of consumers across India. The survey, conducted by ACNielsen's ORG–MARG market research company, asked more than 8,000 participants, across different socio–economic, age, income and geographic backgrounds, various questions in order to determine each company's overall trust score about the brands that consumers believe provide quality, consistency and reassurance.

"We are honored to have our Pizza Hut and KFC brands recognized as the most trusted food service brands in India," said Niren Chaudhary, managing director, Yum! Restaurants International India. "The recognition reflects six years of Pizza Hut's leading reputation in India and consumers' enthusiasm for the Brand and demonstrates how we have successfully developed a strong Pizza Hut and KFC presence, highly skilled workforce and an innovative menu. This honor also recognizes the hard work of our passionate franchisees and Customer Maniacs in our restaurants who help provide outstanding service to our customers daily."

Over the past 12 years, Yum! has become the largest and fastest growing restaurant company in India. As of the second quarter 2010 earnings, the Company had 159 Pizza Huts in 33 cities offering a range of localized products including masala pizza, chicken tikka appetizers and spicy Indian drinks. KFC is the fastest growing quick–service restaurant brand in India with 75 restaurants in 13 cities as of second quarter 2010 earnings. KFC is a young, vibrant brand in India from its contemporary restaurant designs featuring bold colors, open seating areas for large groups and flat–panel televisions to innovative marketing programs to unique signature products, including vegetarian items. The Company also opened the first Taco Bell in India earlier this year. By 2015, the Company forecasts 1,000 KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurants in India, up from 235 restaurants as of second quarter 2010.

YRI, based in Dallas, Texas, is the largest division of Yum! Brands with more than 14,000 restaurants outside the U.S. and China. One of Yum! Brands' four key business strategies is to drive aggressive international expansion and build strong brands everywhere. In 2009, operating profit for YRI was $491 million. The year 2009 also marked the tenth year that YRI has opened more than 900 new restaurants outside the U.S. and China.

Yum! Brands, Inc., based in Louisville, Ky., is the world's largest restaurant company in terms of system restaurants with more than 37,000 restaurants in more than 110 countries and territories. The company is ranked #216 on the Fortune 500 List, with revenues of nearly $11 billion in 2009. Four of the company's restaurant brands – KFC, Pizza Hut, Long John Silver's and Taco Bell – are the global leaders of the chicken, quick–service seafood, pizza and Mexican–style food categories. A&W Restaurants is the longest running quick–service franchise chain in America. Outside the United States, the Yum! Brands system opened more than four new restaurants each day of the year, making it a leader in international retail development. The Company has consistently been recognized for its reward and recognition culture, diversity leadership, community giving, and consistent shareholder returns. In 2007, the Company launched World Hunger Relief, the world's largest private sector hunger relief effort to raise awareness, volunteerism and funds to benefit the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and other hunger relief agencies. To date, this effort has raised nearly $60 million for WFP and other hunger relief agencies and is helping to provide approximately 250 million meals, saving the lives of millions of people in remote corners of the world where hunger is most prevalent.

Tags:Pizza Hut Franchise, Graham Allan, Niren Chaudhary, passionate franchisees, KFC Franchise, YRI, Yum Franchises, taco bell franchise, qsr franchise, quick service restaurants franchise.

Source:Business Wire/Press Release on Sep 3, 2010.

This Blog/Information/News Item/Press Release has been posted by Sparkleminds, A Franchise Consulting Company Based at Bangalore,India, Offering Complete Franchise Solutions Nationally and Internationally for more than a decade now.Visit www.sparkleminds.com for more details.

TA Associates Invests In One Of India's Largest Healthcare Franchise Dr Lal PathLabs. (LPL).

BOSTON & MUMBAI, India--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TA Associates, a leading global growth private equity firm, today announced a minority investment in Dr Lal PathLabs (LPL), one of India’s largest chains of pathology laboratories, by purchasing half of Sequoia Capital’s stake. Sequoia Capital has been an investor in Dr Lal PathLabs since 2005.

“We are happy to partner with TA Associates to continue to support the ambitious growth plans of the company”

Dr Lal PathLabs was founded in New Delhi in 1949 by Dr. (Major) S.K. Lal as a single laboratory in central Delhi. Today, the company, under the stewardship of Dr. Arvind Lal, Chairman, and Dr. Om Manchanda, CEO, has grown rapidly to become one of the country’s largest diagnostic networks comprising two state-of-the-art central laboratories, 55 satellite laboratories, 850 collection centers and 2,500 pick-up points.

“Dr Lal PathLabs is an exciting growth story and a highly compelling investment opportunity,” said Naveen Wadhera, Director, TA Associates Advisory Pvt. Ltd., who will join the company’s Board of Directors. “Over the last 60 years, LPL has made a name for itself, particularly in Delhi and the National Capital Region, by providing the highest quality diagnostic lab tests and service levels to consumers. The company has achieved especially strong growth recently under the leadership of Dr. Lal and Dr. Manchanda, and we anticipate significant growth opportunities through geographical expansion and the strong secular drivers propelling the Indian healthcare industry.”

“We are happy to partner with TA Associates to continue to support the ambitious growth plans of the company,” said Sandeep Singhal, Managing Director, Sequoia Capital India. “I am confident that Dr. Lal and Dr. Manchanda, who have built one of the strongest healthcare franchises in India, will continue to out-execute and out-perform competition in this space.”

Dr Lal PathLabs offers a range of more than 1,700 diagnostic tests to consumers, from routine biochemistry tests to more complex molecular tests, and tested over three million patients in the last fiscal year. The company is accredited by the College of American Pathologists and the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration of Laboratories, and has achieved ISO 9001 2000 certification for its laboratories.

“TA Associates and Sequoia Capital form an ideal investor group for our company,” said Dr. Arvind Lal, Chairman, Dr Lal PathLabs. “TA brings a wealth of healthcare investment experience, a fast-growing presence in the Indian market, and top-flight strategic resources that will enable our company to continue its strong growth trajectory. Sequoia Capital remaining as a shareholder and board member is a strong positive of this deal as we can continue to benefit from their ability to add value to achieve our objectives.”

Dr. Om Manchanda, CEO, Dr Lal PathLabs, said, “Over the last five years, LPL has built a formidable management team, which has in-depth exposure in the healthcare space on the back of diverse industry experience. LPL has so far been concentrating on greenfield expansions. Now, we are embarking on an aggressive growth plan that includes acquisitions. By the end of 2011, we are intent on having a 100-strong laboratory network, 1,000 collection centers and 3,000 pick-up points across India. The presence of both TA Associates and Sequoia Capital on the LPL board now gives us the leverage of accessing funds for adopting this ambitious growth plan. The LPL team looks forward to receiving strategic inputs from TA Associates, which has invested in healthcare companies around the world.”

TA Associates has more than four decades of investing experience, focusing on profitable growth companies. TA’s prior investments in the healthcare sector include Alere Medical, AmeriChoice, CompBenefits, Invitrogen, MQ Associates, National Imaging Associates, Triumph HealthCare and Twin Med. TA’s previous investments in India include GlobeOp Financial Services, Idea Cellular and Micromax Informatics Limited.

TA Associates Advisory Pvt. Ltd. provided advisory services to TA Associates in India. Ernst & Young served as financial advisors and Lexygen and Goodwin Procter provided legal counsel to TA Associates. JM Financial served as financial advisors, and Luthra & Luthra and AZB provided legal counsel to Dr Lal PathLabs and Sequoia Capital, respectively.

About Dr Lal PathLabs

Dr Lal PathLabs is India’s leading diagnostics and pathology services company. The company has a distinguished track record of providing medical diagnostic services in India for over 60 years. Its operations incorporate state-of-the-art testing equipment and methodologies and strongly leverage advanced communication infrastructure. Dr Lal PathLabs offers today the widest range of testing parameters available under one roof in India.

About TA Associates

Founded in 1968, TA Associates is one of the largest and most experienced middle market private equity firms. The firm has invested in over 400 companies and manages more than US $16 billion in capital. With offices in Boston, London, Menlo Park and Mumbai, TA Associates leads buyouts and minority recapitalizations of profitable growth companies in the technology, financial services, business services, healthcare and consumer industries.

About Sequoia Capital

Sequoia Capital currently manages funds capitalized at close to US $1.8 billion and invests across venture, growth and late stage opportunities in India. It takes a long term view on investments and plays the role of an active, value added partner to entrepreneurs, business families and management teams. Over the last nine years, Sequoia Capital has invested in more than 50 Indian companies, including Café Coffee Day, Comviva (Bharti Telesoft), Dr Lal PathLabs, Edelweiss, Firstsource, GVK Biosciences, Idea Cellular, Ind-Barath Power, Just Dial, Shaadi.com and SKS Microfinance. Sequoia Capital operates out of offices in Bangalore, Mumbai and New Delhi.

Globally, Sequoia Capital has an unparalleled track record of partnering with entrepreneurs to create global market leaders. Sequoia Capital has been an early investor in companies such as Google, Cisco, Yahoo, YouTube, Oracle and Apple Computers. Sequoia Capital maintains dedicated teams in the U.S., China, India and Israel.

Tags:Dr Lal PathLabs, Dr Lal PathLabs Franchise, Pathology Franchise, Dr S.K. Lal, Dr Arvind Lal, Dr Om Manchanda, TA Associates, Naveen Wadhera, Sandeep Singhal, Sequoia Capital, Medical Franchise

Source:Business Wire News. Press Release Dt August25, 2010 11:38 AM Eastern Daylight Time.


This Blog/Information/News Item/Press Release has been posted by Sparkleminds, A Franchise Consulting Company Based at Bangalore,India, Offering Complete Franchise Solutions Nationally and Internationally for more than a decade now.Visit www.sparkleminds.com for more details.

Thomas Cook Appoints Franchise In North East India at Dimapur, Assam

Thomas Cook, one of India’s leading travel agency launched its gold circle branch at Zhimomi auto mobiles building on Wednesday. The franchisee taken up by M/s KAZ enterprises will provide air, rail, cruise ticketing, visa and passport related services, travel insurance and foreign exchange facilities also. It may also be added that Dimapur is the only city after Guwahati in the entire NE to have a franchisee of TCIL. 

Addressing the gathering, KAZ enterprises proprietor Atomi Zhimomi expressed hope that the outlet will open up huge avenues of travel across the World. 

“There is something for everyone” he asserted. Further he also lauded the government under CM Neiphiu Rio for bringing about a peaceful environment which he added has made tourism sector possible. 

General Manager – travel business Anamitra Biswas also gave a brief profile on the company. 

The various facilities provided by TCIL includes group escorted tours to Europe and the rest of the world, customized package that suit specific needs, cruises from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean to the rest of the world and travel essentials such as insurance, foreign exchange.

Thomas Cook Group plc is one of the world’s leading leisure travel groups with sales of £9.3 billion and 22.1 million customers and operates under five geographic segments in 21 countries.


Tags:Thomas Cook, Thomas Cook Franchise, Travel Franchise, Travel Agency Franchise, KAZ Enterprises, Nagaland Franchise, north east franchise,  assam franchise, anamitra biswas,


This Blog/Information/News Item/Press Release has been posted by Sparkleminds, A Franchise Consulting Company Based at Bangalore,India, Offering Complete Franchise Solutions Nationally and Internationally for more than a decade now.Visit www.sparkleminds.com for more details.

McDonalds India Franchisee Vikram Bakshi On India Learnings and Growth Ahead

NEW DELHI—McDonald's Corp. plans to step up its expansion in India this year and next after finding that the country's new middle class will line up for its fast food, even in the smaller cities.

After opening about 35 new stores this year, Indian franchisees of the U.S. burger chain plan to open 45 branches or more next year, said Vikram Bakshi, managing director of McDonald's operations in the north and east of India. They will have about 210 stores in India by the end of this year, he said. The company expects its revenue to rise by more than 30% this year, he said, with about half of the growth coming from new outlets and half coming from increased spending by existing customers.

"The existing customer is coming in more often and has more money in his pocket," he said.

As McDonald's sets up shop in smaller cities, it is finding pent-up demand, said Mr. Bakshi. After years of watching McDonald's commercials on Indian television, small-city consumers are familiar with the menu, he said, though they don't always understand that you have to line up to order food. "They just sit down and wait for someone to take the order," he said.

In towns and cities like Lucknow, Varanasi, Panipat, Ambala and Meerut, McDonald's branches are mobbed when they first open, with first-time fast-food buyers snapping up items off of the menu unique to India. These include the Chicken Maharaja Mac and the vegetarian McAloo Tikki burger.

A McDonald's restaurant in Noida, located near New Delhi.

Pork and beef products are not sold in McDonald's India franchises, and the kitchen is segregated into vegetarian and non-vegetarian sections.


More than 10,000 customers a day have been flocking to one of McDonald's newest outlets in Bhopal in the state of Madhya Pradesh.

One of the biggest bottlenecks to further growth is infrastructure, said Mr. Bakshi. McDonald's needs good roads for deliveries, uninterrupted power and gas, and shopping areas popular with consumers. Better infrastructure could more than double his McDonald's growth rate in India, he said.

"With the kind of hunger that we have seen for a product like ours, it is very clear that if our infrastructure would improve to the level of China's then our growth would double to 40%, 50% or 60% per year," he said.

Tags:McDonald's Franchise, McDonalds, McDonalds Franchise, Vikram Bakshi, fast food franchise, burger franchise, mac donalds, mc donalds store, mcdonalds india, mc donalds restaurant, india franchisee

Source:The Wall Street Journal, India Business Week, Aug 31,2010, Eric Bellman.

This Blog/Information/News Item/Press Release has been posted by Sparkleminds, A Franchise Consulting Company Based at Bangalore,India, Offering Complete Franchise Solutions Nationally and Internationally for more than a decade now.Visit www.sparkleminds.com for more details.