Food franchisees board merchandising ship

Man U, Hard Rock, Ministry of Sound lead the lineup that’s clamouring for the tested route to open shop

TIMES have changed from the moment Christopher Columbus set sail for Indian shores. But the temptation still prevails. Bigticket retailers have already started unpacking here, but a whole new range of specialist food and entertainment chains are now discovering the potential of the franchisee model in India.
Considered to be one of the finest ideas of the last century, it still does not seem to have lost its shine. The role of these new entrants are not limited to just selling what they are known best for. They are also extending it to merchandising to include a range of memorabilia and extension of their product lines thus creating a whole new revenue model for themselves.
So while on one hand you have England’s famous football club Manchester United planning to kick off operations, there’s already a few others queued up to rake in the moolah. They include London’s hippest night club Ministry of Sound and America’s iconic entertainment chain Hard Rock Cafe. Indian players, too, seem to have taken a leaf out of the book of these well known imports with Percept Holdings launching a food and entertainment chain — Bollywood Cafe in Mumbai.
Take Manchester United Football Club (MUFC), for instance. It has around 70 million football crazy fans around the globe. They are ready to kick off the Indian operations with their Manchester United Restaurant & Bar concept.
With high-end sports bars and MUFC’s memorabilia capturing the club’s colourful history, the outlets promise to be a complete soccer buff’s delight. There would be mugs, tees, caps, balls and other merchandise that would complement the thought behind the brand. But why India? Here’s what John Lim, CEO, Manchester United Food and Beverage, Asia-Pacific told SundayET; “India is a strategic country to help us grow in Asia-Pacific. We see a growing interest in soccer. We believe the country has to mature into watching other sports and the trend shows that India is following other sports like soccer, golf and tennis.”
Lim should know. In fact, people have already started following European league matches, UEFA and the FIFA World Cup closely, with UEFA and FIFA getting one of the highest TRPs in any game.
Lim takes the argument further. “How many cafes are there in the Asia-Pacific currently? “We are new in this businesses and want to have a footprint in the entire Asia-Pacific. So we are working in all countries, practically simultaneously. We have a 10,000 sq feet restaurant and bar in Jakarta and a 3000 sq feet bar in Bandung, both in Indonesia, and are currently negotiating with possible franchisees in Korea, India and Japan. We estimate that for Asia-Pacific, India would contribute 30% of the total revenues.” Anu Handa, India representative, Manchester United, F&B adds, “We are looking for franchisees with a minimum of 3000 sq feet area and the break even for each could be about three months.” Manchester United Bar & Restaurant setting up operations here is not a solitary example of a foreign restaurant chain tasting Indian curry. Known as ambassadors of rock globally, Hard Rock International opened its first Indian café at Mumbai last September. By the year end there could be half a dozen more in cities like Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore.
There are 138 Hard Rock Cafes, Hotels and Casinos in 42 countries around the world. Hard Rock Cafe Mumbai promises to keep fans rocking with live music on two stage areas that can be simultaneously used for performances. The 6,000-square-foot, 169-seat cafe features American menu, collectible merchandise and world-famous memorabilia representing contemporary stars such as Madonna, U2, and Bruce Springsteen along with side items from rock legends such as Elvis Presley, Led Zeppelin and the Beatles.
Jay Singh, CEO, Hard Rock Café, India is clearly optimistic. India is happening, he says. “We are pleasantly surprised to see people coming up to us with enthusiasm and queries on rock culture. The memorabilia is just a small percentage of the total sales right now and by the year end we have plans of spreading out to the rest of the country,” he points out.
MOS,B’wood open shop
Ditto for the hip nightclub Ministry of Sound (MOS), which opened in Delhi recently. Not only satisfied with blasting night owls with heady house beats, MOS India has plans of branding and getting worldwide releases of music compilations, launching its line of MP3 players in India and even coming out with MOS memorabilia. “We are planning to get into a retail tie up with Planet M and have huge merchandising plans for India with leather jackets, t shirts and speaker bags ready to come in by March end. The potential is just waiting to be tapped. We are finalizing plans for Mumbai and Bangalore at present,” says Tubby Kapur, CEO, Ministry of Sound, India.
Foreign labels are not alone. Over the next four years Percept Holdings is planning to pump in $100 million in its new venture Bollywood Cafe. Designed on the lines of the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street, the place will have a hall of fame and a walk of fame. Merchandising showrooms, a wax museum akin to Madame Taussads will showcase wax replicas of Bollywood personalities.“Yes, it is possible to have Hrithik Pasta there,” Shailendra Singh, joint MD, Percept Holdings says with a smile. “You come to Mumbai and go back with a slice of Bollywood culture. That’s our idea. Bollywood accounts for over 40 % of the total revenues of the entire Indian film industry. Bollywood is what the Indian masses turn to for entertainment, but there is no organized format or means to consume this experience. This is an opportunity for the Indian audiences to live and breathe Bollywood under one roof! We are mainly targeting tourists.”
In his effort to find India Columbus found America by mistake. Franchisers can’t afford a similar slip-up. Bon Voyage!
courtesy:economictimes
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