Boby Kurian

THE Lebanese billionaire Fred Mouawad's tryst with India is gathering intensity. He forayed into the country with Pizza Corner in 1996. Almost a decade later, with Pizza Corner slated to report the first ever cash profit this year, Mouawad is quietly expanding his speciality food retail dreams in one of the fastest growing world economies.

Global Franchise Architects (GFA), Mouawad's vehicle for seeking and nurturing opportunities in the speciality retail business in the Asian region, is set for a major push in the Indian market. There are plans to usher in three more brands - Coffee World, New York Deli and The Cream & Fudge Corporation. Of this, Coffee World, which has over 50 outlets in Thailand, where Mouawad is a naturalised citizen, has already forayed into India with its first outlet in Bangalore. GFA wants to unveil New York Deli, a start-up brand offering fresh soups, salads and sandwiches in Bangalore, once again, by May this year. The Cream & Fudge Corporation, a venture in premium ice-cream, is taking wing in Bangkok, and will set foot in India in the near future.

All this at a time when Mouawad's initial venture, Pizza Corner, is gearing up for the next level of expansion in the country and abroad. With 30 outlets under its belt, it hopes to double its network on the domestic front even as it is on the verge of signing up with two oil companies for express counters in fuel stations. The pizza chain that started off in Chennai is today present in New Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore, and has now invited franchisees for forays into smaller cities such as Kochi, Manipal, Mangalore and Coimbatore.

GFA, formed with Mouawad as its Chairman following the merger of two partners, GRI Investments and FM Investments, has invested nearly $9 million in Pizza Corner India (P) Ltd, and has also bought back a 33 per cent stake held by ICICI Ventures.

Fred Mouawad surfaced on the Indian scene when he, along with Global Retail Investments (GRI), floated by a group of high net worth individuals in Europe, scanned the Asian markets to tap emerging retail business opportunities. He hails from a multi-generational international jeweller, Mouawad group, which across five continents, supplying jewellery to royal families and has a stunning private collection that has seen no fewer than eight of the world's most precious diamonds.

Part of the family's fourth generation, Fred Mouawad co-founded FM Investments in 1995 to pursue his passion for innovating, building and assisting companies to grow. In 1998, he and his brother set up the New York-based Mondera.com, a diamond e-tail business, to approach a wider global audience. His affinity to building consumer and trade brands has led him to be associated with Instore Magazine and WebStudio1.

Mouawad and GFA are in the midst of taking their speciality food retail brands to newer markets in Asia, notably China and Dubai. GFA is in the final stages of locating its international operations even though expansion of Pizza Corner into markets like China is currently being done from India. GFA's speciality food brands bank heavily on Indian managerial talent. Not surprisingly, as the country, along with Thailand, was the first market where Mouawad shaped the business. Meanwhile, GFA India has put in place an umbrella management structure, with Anoop Sequeira as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to look after its entire portfolio of speciality food retail operations.

The 22-member corporate team has shifted base to Bangalore after being located in Chennai and Delhi in tandem with Pizza Corner's progress in the last one decade. GFA unveiled the first outlet of Coffee World on Brigade Road - Bangalore's central business district - in December 2004. It has been positioned as the first international coffee lounge and is premium-priced to rivals Café Coffee Day and Barista.

"What it offers is a comfortable and luxurious café décor for young executives and families with a price tag not as intimidating as a five-star hotel. We are higher priced than Barista or Coffee Day even though it is a nominal differential as far as Barista goes," Sequeira says. Coffee World, a Wi-Fi zone, also claims to serve the widest range of frappes. It plans to roll out 20 lounges in cities such as Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Delhi by the end of this calendar year.

According to Sequeira, New York Deli, which is expected to start operations before June this year, is closest to Subway in its positioning. It will cater mostly to people on the move through takeaway packs. "These outlets may not require much operational space even though it offers sit-down option to the customers," Sequeira adds. GFA India is currently not willing to spill many beans about The Cream & Fudge except that it is a premium ice-cream experience in the making. However, the market observers are certain that GFA's brands are bound to grate with competitive rivals as the speciality food retail segment gets crowded with multinational biggies as well as fragmented local contenders.

But Sequeira says GFA is up to the challenge, and it is satisfied with the way Pizza Corner has evolved as a brand. "We surely had teething problems, but it had nothing to do with restaurant operations. In fact, we have come a long way in product improvisation," he says. "The main issue Pizza Corner faced was high corporate costs, and that is behind us now," he adds. The pizza chain was also slow in franchisee expansion (only three among its 30 outlets are franchisee-driven). Again, Sequeira sees it changing. "We got a pat on the back recently when our Hyderabad franchisee signed up for a second store recently after we jointly tackled some rough times," he says.

Further, with GFA unveiling more speciality food retail brands, it is uniquely placed to work out synergies in back-end infrastructure and supply chain. "We launched Coffee World with nearly zero corporate cost as we share the dry and cold supply chains," he says. GFA has earmarked between $3 million and $5 million for retail expansion of Pizza Corner and Coffee World through franchisee participation. Ask Sequeira about the financial muscle and investor commitment needed to propel his brands and the reply is instant: "Mouawad didn't blink an eye to invest in China when he saw the opportunity there. Sometimes one can smell and feel the business."

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