The Hindu Business Line : Qwiky's to have more outlets; plans second store in Lanka

Speaking to Business Line here, Mr Shashi Chimala, the CEO of Chimayo Chains, which runs Qwiky's, said Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur and Colombo, in Sri Lanka, were among the cities the new outlets would be set up in. Mumbai will be getting its fourth Qwiky's, Colombo and Pune its second, and Nagpur, its first, in the form of a coffee-island. The company was also considering opening an outlet in Bhubaneswar, he said. It now has 22 outlets.

Mr Chimala said smaller cities and towns were important to Qwiky's expansion plans but that they had to be selected carefully. There was much demand for franchises from this class of cities - his company gets at least two enquiries every week, he said.

Qwiky's has been "low-key and slow and steady" as there was "much hype after the first coffee bars opened and aggressive growth plans have backfired, with some chains having to close some outlets." Unlike them, Qwiky's has not had to do so, he said.

A result of this hype was that initially real estate prices had skyrocketed, but today, offers were very attractive, with the owners even negotiating their fees as a percentage of the coffee pub's revenue, which was "diametrically opposite to the usual practice, and made it less risky for us," he said. Coffee pubs have come to be seen as a "necessary value-addition and a staple at malls," which is a great foot forward for the business, he added.

The store-in-store format has worked really well for Qwiky's, Mr Chimala said. "We are sensitive to other retail opportunities through a presence in offices, colleges and cinemas and through vending machines," he said. The company is also working on cross-promotions with cellular telephone service companies, he added.