The Hindu Business Line : Pizza Corner to open 2 outlets in Bangkok

PIZZA Corner will launch its first international outlets in Thailand by the middle of this month. The pizza chain will open two outlets in Bangkok this month, said Mr Anoop Sequeira, Chief Executive Officer, Global Franchise Architects (GFA), which is the parent company of Pizza Corner.

The company also plans to start Pizza Corner outlets in China and Dubai by the next financial year, he told Business Line. Work on identifying possible sites in both China and Dubai has already started, he added.

GFA, which currently has 37 Pizza Corner outlets in India, plans to add another 24 outlets by March next year, Mr Sequeira said. By November, the company will enter Maharashtra with restaurants in Mumbai and Pune. Besides starting more Pizza Corner outlets in Bangalore, the company also plans to set up outlets in towns such as Agra, Belgaum and Salem. The company has also entered Kerala with a Pizza Corner outlet in Thiruvananthapuram.

Many of the new outlets will be run by franchisees as the company is looking at franchising in a big way, he explained.

The pizza chain has made profits in the last financial year, Mr Sequeira said. Declining to mention figures, he said that the company has grown by 18 per cent year-on-year.

Also on the cards is the expansion of Coffee World, another GFA retail brand launched recently in India, Mr Sequeira said.

The company currently has four Coffee World cafes — three in Bangalore and one in Mumbai. New cafes will soon be opened in Chennai and New Delhi.

The company plans to have 15 Coffee World outlets by March 2006, he added.

The company, which recently chose actress Esha Deol as brand ambassador for Coffee World, is considering a similar celebrity endorsement for Pizza Corner also, Mr Sequeira said.

A final decision will be based on the response to the celebrity endorsement initiative for Coffee World, he explained.

Other GFA brands such as New York Deli and The Cream and Fudge Factory are also likely to be launched in India very soon.

According to Mr Sequeira, both brands are likely to enter India early in 2006 and will initially be launched in the metros.

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