Chokdee Dimsum Restaurant plans to grow domestically and venture abroad in the next three years with funds to be raised from the stock market.
Managing director Dheeraphop Siraprapathum said last week that the company was working with a financial adviser to prepare for listing on the Market for Alternative Investment (MAI).
According to the listing plan, it has already separated its business into three companies.
Chokdee International Food operates the central kitchen and distributes frozen dim sum to all branches nationwide.
Chokdee Dimsum Restaurant operates the dim sum restaurants.
And Chokdee International Franchise oversees its franchised restaurants.
Listing on the MAI would be the springboard for expansion, Dheeraphop said.
Domestically, Chokdee Restaurant would like to enter department stores and shopping centres, while it would like to penetrate overseas markets such as China.
"To have a restaurant in one shopping mall, we need at least Bt4 million. Meanwhile, if we would like to have a Chokdee Dimsum Restaurant overseas, we have to set up a central kitchen. Therefore, the investment will increase to Bt20 million per branch, which is too much for us. We need to mobilise funds from the bourse," he said.
The enterprise would grow rapidly after listing on the MAI, he said.
Since its establishment in 2000, it has multiplied to 18 branches, of which nine operate around the clock.
"We are the first dim sum restaurant in Thailand that sets reasonable prices, which everyone can afford and is open for 24 hours. This is our strength. We can utilise every resource such as employees for the most effective results to gain more money. And night-time is a good period for making money," he said.
The company plans to increase its coverage by six branches this year, of which three have already been created by franchising both in Bangkok and upcountry.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
INDEX LIVING MALL ENTERS MIDEAST
Retail is Detail, the first foreign franchisee of Thailand's Index Living Mall, has revealed plans to spend US$40 million to $50 million (Bt1.37 billion to Bt1.71 billion) to open 10 Index Living Mall stores in all the major markets of the Middle East within three to five years.
Last week, the company opened its first 4,645-square-metre Index Living Mall outlet in Dubai Mall, the largest shopping complex in the United Arab Emirates' most populous city. The shop, which cost $5 million, carries more than 3,000 items of home-finishing products, of which 70 per cent are home accessories and the rest furniture.
The store employs 41 staff, including 38 Thais.
Index Living Mall is Thailand's largest home-retail chain, with 17 stores and combined retail space of 186,000 square metres.
Retail is Detail director Sanveer Gill said his company was confident the flagship Index Living Mall outlet in Dubai would break even within a year.
He said the company planned to open 10 Index Living Mall stores in many high-potential Middle East markets, including Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Retail is Detail's parent company, Gill Capital, is also planning to open Index Living Mall outlets in Singapore and Malaysia.
"We are looking to open as many Index Living Mall stores as possible in a stand-alone format. They will have large retail spaces of more than 100,000 square feet [9,300 square metres] and will have store and warehouse altogether in one place," Gill said.
Index Living Mall executive director Kijja Patamasatayasonthi said the Thai company had also been approached by investors in Austria and India, wanting to become franchisees and open Index Living Mall stores in their markets.
"Our franchisee [Retail is Detail] has been offered huge retail space of 7,800 square metres by a mall developer in Bahrain. Another developer in Abu Dhabi has offered more than 10,000 square metres of retail space for an Index Living Mall in its shopping complex. This is because they believe Index Living Mall can be an attractive magnet for their shopping malls," Kijja said.
Gill said Dubai received 30 million tourists a year and was a perfect place for Index Living Mall to be seen.
"Despite the recession, which causes the crash of banks and real-estate industries, the purchasing power of people in Dubai is still there, because they produce oil and natural gas. They still have money to spend," Gill said, adding that 85 per cent of visitors to Index Living Mall in Dubai Mall bought something.
"During times of recession, people must spend more time at home. They also love to invest money for home improvement," he said.
Gill said 60,000-80,000 new houses and condominium units were delivered to owners in Dubai last year. The number has fallen 20-30 per cent this year.
"However, we believe the recession in Dubai will stabilise by the end of this year," he said.
Retail is Detail was formed six months ago as the investment arm of Singaporean-based Gill Capital to care for the group's retail expansions in the Middle East. The company has already opened eight retail stores in Dubai Mall, six of which are well-known franchise operations from markets around the world.
They are an Ethan Allen furniture store from the US, Index Living Mall from Thailand, a Gina ladies' shoe store from London, a Stella Luna ladies' shoe store from China, Vince Camuto ladies' shoes from the US and a Hershey candy and chocolate shop from the US. The company's own retail brands, which have also opened in Dubai Mall, are I Wanna Go Home furniture store and Candylicious candy and chocolate shop.
"We want to expand these retail brands to the rest of the Middle East," Gill said, adding that the company planned to open a new Index Living Mall outlet in Bahrain
or Abu Dhabi within nine to 12 months.
He said his company discovered Index Living Mall last August, when his father and mother visited Hua Hin on holiday. They had dinner in town, accidentally came across the Index Living Mall outlet and liked it very much.
"Index Living Mall made a good first impression, backed by strong visual merchandising, customer service and good product quality," Gill said.
Index Interfurn Group president Pisith Patamasatayasonthi said his company had already opened seven Index Living Mall outlets in Bangkok alone.
"We want to have 10 outlets serving all of Bangkok's major areas in the near future," he said.
In addition to a new Index Living Mall that will open at kilometre 5 of Bang Na-Trat Road this year, the company will spend |another Bt1.2 billion to open two new stores on Ratchaphruek and Ram-Indra roads.
Last week, the company opened its first 4,645-square-metre Index Living Mall outlet in Dubai Mall, the largest shopping complex in the United Arab Emirates' most populous city. The shop, which cost $5 million, carries more than 3,000 items of home-finishing products, of which 70 per cent are home accessories and the rest furniture.
The store employs 41 staff, including 38 Thais.
Index Living Mall is Thailand's largest home-retail chain, with 17 stores and combined retail space of 186,000 square metres.
Retail is Detail director Sanveer Gill said his company was confident the flagship Index Living Mall outlet in Dubai would break even within a year.
He said the company planned to open 10 Index Living Mall stores in many high-potential Middle East markets, including Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Retail is Detail's parent company, Gill Capital, is also planning to open Index Living Mall outlets in Singapore and Malaysia.
"We are looking to open as many Index Living Mall stores as possible in a stand-alone format. They will have large retail spaces of more than 100,000 square feet [9,300 square metres] and will have store and warehouse altogether in one place," Gill said.
Index Living Mall executive director Kijja Patamasatayasonthi said the Thai company had also been approached by investors in Austria and India, wanting to become franchisees and open Index Living Mall stores in their markets.
"Our franchisee [Retail is Detail] has been offered huge retail space of 7,800 square metres by a mall developer in Bahrain. Another developer in Abu Dhabi has offered more than 10,000 square metres of retail space for an Index Living Mall in its shopping complex. This is because they believe Index Living Mall can be an attractive magnet for their shopping malls," Kijja said.
Gill said Dubai received 30 million tourists a year and was a perfect place for Index Living Mall to be seen.
"Despite the recession, which causes the crash of banks and real-estate industries, the purchasing power of people in Dubai is still there, because they produce oil and natural gas. They still have money to spend," Gill said, adding that 85 per cent of visitors to Index Living Mall in Dubai Mall bought something.
"During times of recession, people must spend more time at home. They also love to invest money for home improvement," he said.
Gill said 60,000-80,000 new houses and condominium units were delivered to owners in Dubai last year. The number has fallen 20-30 per cent this year.
"However, we believe the recession in Dubai will stabilise by the end of this year," he said.
Retail is Detail was formed six months ago as the investment arm of Singaporean-based Gill Capital to care for the group's retail expansions in the Middle East. The company has already opened eight retail stores in Dubai Mall, six of which are well-known franchise operations from markets around the world.
They are an Ethan Allen furniture store from the US, Index Living Mall from Thailand, a Gina ladies' shoe store from London, a Stella Luna ladies' shoe store from China, Vince Camuto ladies' shoes from the US and a Hershey candy and chocolate shop from the US. The company's own retail brands, which have also opened in Dubai Mall, are I Wanna Go Home furniture store and Candylicious candy and chocolate shop.
"We want to expand these retail brands to the rest of the Middle East," Gill said, adding that the company planned to open a new Index Living Mall outlet in Bahrain
or Abu Dhabi within nine to 12 months.
He said his company discovered Index Living Mall last August, when his father and mother visited Hua Hin on holiday. They had dinner in town, accidentally came across the Index Living Mall outlet and liked it very much.
"Index Living Mall made a good first impression, backed by strong visual merchandising, customer service and good product quality," Gill said.
Index Interfurn Group president Pisith Patamasatayasonthi said his company had already opened seven Index Living Mall outlets in Bangkok alone.
"We want to have 10 outlets serving all of Bangkok's major areas in the near future," he said.
In addition to a new Index Living Mall that will open at kilometre 5 of Bang Na-Trat Road this year, the company will spend |another Bt1.2 billion to open two new stores on Ratchaphruek and Ram-Indra roads.
FRANCHISE DEAL FOR KAZOKUTEI RESTAURANTS
The Oishi Group, a local leader in Japanese food and beverage, last week signed a five-year franchise contract to introduce Kazokutei soba- and udon-noodle restaurants in Thailand.The company also has right to renew the franchise for another five years after the contract expires.
Group managing director Tan Passakornatee said the introduction of Kazokutei would serve the great potential of Thailand's noodle culture and was in line with the company's strategy of opening up new market segments following the great success of its ramen-noodle restaurants.
Kazokutei is the No-1 soba and udon restaurant in Japan. The company plans to open as many as 20 in Thailand within five years.
Tan said his company would spend Bt50 million to open five restaurants in the first year. Locations in central Bangkok frequented by Japanese, such as Sukhumvit Soi 39, will be sought. Each Kazokutei restaurant will employ 20-30 staff.
The opening of new franchised restaurants will help it make better use of its new noodle machine being installed at the company's factory in the Navanakorn Industrial Estate in Pathum Thani province.
Tan said Thailand was among the first international markets for Kazokutei franchises.
In addition to the Kingdom, Kazokutei has also signed franchise agreements with local investors in China and Singapore.
Tan said the Oishi Group expected this year's sales to increase 20 per cent to Bt7.2 billion.
Of that, 45 per cent will be from its Japanese restaurants and 55 per cent from its branded beverages: Oishi ready-to-drink green tea, Amino OK functional drinks and Coffio ready-to-drink coffee.
In addition to managing the Oishi Group, Tan used more than Bt400 million of his own money to develop two hotels in Prachuap Khiri Khan's Pran Buri district: the Moroccan-style Villa Maroc and the Ali Baba boutique hotel.
"My idea was not to build hotels, but rather architectural art on the beach, to stimulate tourism in the area," said Tan.
Tan will also develop a new community mall on 9 rai of land on Nimmanahaeminda Road in Chiang Mai, in conjunction with Siam Future Development.
Another project is an art centre on 5 rai of land, also in Chiang Mai, in cooperation with the Thailand Creative & Design Centre and Thailand Knowledge Park.
Group managing director Tan Passakornatee said the introduction of Kazokutei would serve the great potential of Thailand's noodle culture and was in line with the company's strategy of opening up new market segments following the great success of its ramen-noodle restaurants.
Kazokutei is the No-1 soba and udon restaurant in Japan. The company plans to open as many as 20 in Thailand within five years.
Tan said his company would spend Bt50 million to open five restaurants in the first year. Locations in central Bangkok frequented by Japanese, such as Sukhumvit Soi 39, will be sought. Each Kazokutei restaurant will employ 20-30 staff.
The opening of new franchised restaurants will help it make better use of its new noodle machine being installed at the company's factory in the Navanakorn Industrial Estate in Pathum Thani province.
Tan said Thailand was among the first international markets for Kazokutei franchises.
In addition to the Kingdom, Kazokutei has also signed franchise agreements with local investors in China and Singapore.
Tan said the Oishi Group expected this year's sales to increase 20 per cent to Bt7.2 billion.
Of that, 45 per cent will be from its Japanese restaurants and 55 per cent from its branded beverages: Oishi ready-to-drink green tea, Amino OK functional drinks and Coffio ready-to-drink coffee.
In addition to managing the Oishi Group, Tan used more than Bt400 million of his own money to develop two hotels in Prachuap Khiri Khan's Pran Buri district: the Moroccan-style Villa Maroc and the Ali Baba boutique hotel.
"My idea was not to build hotels, but rather architectural art on the beach, to stimulate tourism in the area," said Tan.
Tan will also develop a new community mall on 9 rai of land on Nimmanahaeminda Road in Chiang Mai, in conjunction with Siam Future Development.
Another project is an art centre on 5 rai of land, also in Chiang Mai, in cooperation with the Thailand Creative & Design Centre and Thailand Knowledge Park.
NEO SUKI TO OPEN CHINA FRANCHISE
Neo Suki Thai Restaurants has returned to the Chinese market with a plan to have three franchises up and running in Guangzhou next year.
The company recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (Mou) with Feed Master Group (China) to be its franchisee in the country, managing director Skon Kubpiyajanya said last week.
Neo Suki will co-invest with Feed Master Group in each Neo Suki restaurant, contributing 20 to 25 per cent. It will receive a share of the revenue from each restaurant equivalent to the ivestment stake, as well as a franchise fee.
This is the first time that Feed Master Group, whose primary business is manufacturing animal feed, has diversified into another food business. The firm approached Neo Suki a few months ago about buying franchises.
Skon said he had a chance to talk with Feed Master executives as part of a delegation accompanying Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on a visit to Guangzhou last month, and clinched the deal during the trip. Abhisit was a guest of honour at the MoU signing ceremony at Impact Muang Thong Thani last week.
"Our partner is looking for a location for the first Neo Suki restaurant, and is hoping to lease space in the Grand Ville shopping mall in the centre of Guangzhou. The first branch, which will likely require an investment budget of 2 million yuan [Bt10 million], is expected to open by the end of this year. We want to have three branches open by the end of next year," he said.
Skon said Guangzhou was a good city in which to launch its suki restaurants as it will host the Asian Games next year. It is also major tourist destination whose service businesses, including restaurants, have enjoyed strong growth, he said.
Neo Suki opened a branch in Bejing in 2005 - the first suki restaurant in China - with a local partner. The venture failed, however, and Neo Suki withdrew its investment after six months.
"I've learned that it is not easy to get into the restaurant business in China, which is quite complicated for foreign investors. The first time, we co-invested with a local partner. Experience has shown me that it would be better to expand using the franchise model and let the local partner, who knows Chinese culture well, take full responsibility for operating the restaurant. I'm absolutely confident we won't fail this time," he said.
The firm plans to expand the Neo Suki chain to Xiamen and other tourism destinations in mainland China, Skon said.
The company recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (Mou) with Feed Master Group (China) to be its franchisee in the country, managing director Skon Kubpiyajanya said last week.
Neo Suki will co-invest with Feed Master Group in each Neo Suki restaurant, contributing 20 to 25 per cent. It will receive a share of the revenue from each restaurant equivalent to the ivestment stake, as well as a franchise fee.
This is the first time that Feed Master Group, whose primary business is manufacturing animal feed, has diversified into another food business. The firm approached Neo Suki a few months ago about buying franchises.
Skon said he had a chance to talk with Feed Master executives as part of a delegation accompanying Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on a visit to Guangzhou last month, and clinched the deal during the trip. Abhisit was a guest of honour at the MoU signing ceremony at Impact Muang Thong Thani last week.
"Our partner is looking for a location for the first Neo Suki restaurant, and is hoping to lease space in the Grand Ville shopping mall in the centre of Guangzhou. The first branch, which will likely require an investment budget of 2 million yuan [Bt10 million], is expected to open by the end of this year. We want to have three branches open by the end of next year," he said.
Skon said Guangzhou was a good city in which to launch its suki restaurants as it will host the Asian Games next year. It is also major tourist destination whose service businesses, including restaurants, have enjoyed strong growth, he said.
Neo Suki opened a branch in Bejing in 2005 - the first suki restaurant in China - with a local partner. The venture failed, however, and Neo Suki withdrew its investment after six months.
"I've learned that it is not easy to get into the restaurant business in China, which is quite complicated for foreign investors. The first time, we co-invested with a local partner. Experience has shown me that it would be better to expand using the franchise model and let the local partner, who knows Chinese culture well, take full responsibility for operating the restaurant. I'm absolutely confident we won't fail this time," he said.
The firm plans to expand the Neo Suki chain to Xiamen and other tourism destinations in mainland China, Skon said.
Au Bon Pain shifts to woo local customers
The decline in foreign tourists and the H1N1 flu have forced the Au Bon Pain sandwich and coffee chain to revise its business strategy.
The local franchise operator has adjusted products, pricing, store expansion and store management as well as backoffice operations, said Wipa Boonpalit,general manager of ABP Cafe (Thailand).
"Our new strategy will focus on local customers, particularly office workers who are coffee lovers as a potential market to offset the missing foreign customers," she said.
Currently, foreign customers at Au Bon Pain make up half of its total.
The company introduced a new coffee menu to meet local tastes last month.Based on its research, local customers like creamy and sweet coffee while foreigners require less sweet coffee. The new drinks cost 45 baht, cheaper than the 65-70 baht charged for other coffee drinks.
The price cuts should encourage more local visits and lift the proportion of local customers to 60%, said Ms Wipa.
This year, the company has invested tens of millions of baht to construct a new factory to serve business expansion.The output will be exported to its foreign network, including outlets in Malaysia and India, which are scheduled to be opened in the near future.
ABP Cafe operates 40 outlets nationwide and aims to add about 10 per year to eventually reach 100. The new store size swill be scaled down to 100 square metres from between 120 and 200 sq m previously, aimed at speeding up outlet expansion.
In the second half of this year, the company will open three to four outlets costing 3-5 million baht each.
The local franchise operator has adjusted products, pricing, store expansion and store management as well as backoffice operations, said Wipa Boonpalit,general manager of ABP Cafe (Thailand).
"Our new strategy will focus on local customers, particularly office workers who are coffee lovers as a potential market to offset the missing foreign customers," she said.
Currently, foreign customers at Au Bon Pain make up half of its total.
The company introduced a new coffee menu to meet local tastes last month.Based on its research, local customers like creamy and sweet coffee while foreigners require less sweet coffee. The new drinks cost 45 baht, cheaper than the 65-70 baht charged for other coffee drinks.
The price cuts should encourage more local visits and lift the proportion of local customers to 60%, said Ms Wipa.
This year, the company has invested tens of millions of baht to construct a new factory to serve business expansion.The output will be exported to its foreign network, including outlets in Malaysia and India, which are scheduled to be opened in the near future.
ABP Cafe operates 40 outlets nationwide and aims to add about 10 per year to eventually reach 100. The new store size swill be scaled down to 100 square metres from between 120 and 200 sq m previously, aimed at speeding up outlet expansion.
In the second half of this year, the company will open three to four outlets costing 3-5 million baht each.
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