Date:20/01/2007 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/01/20/stories/2007012002570500.htm

Back Baskin Robbins plans more outlets

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New Delhi Jan. 19 The Indian arm of premium ice cream retailing chain Baskin Robbins said it had aggressive plans to expand its presence across the country.

"We currently have 200 outlets in India, mostly in major cities. We plan to hike our presence to almost 275 outlets in 2007-08," said Mr Pankaj Chaturvedi, CEO, South Asia. The company plans to focus on tier-II cities such as Jaipur, Jabalpur and Chandigarh among others. Baskin Robbins plans to add 75-100 outlets every year from 2008 onwards.

"We have also tied up with every possible modern food retailer, be it Food Bazaar, FoodWorld or Hyper City," Mr Chaturvedi added.

He reiterated the company's strategy to maintain its premium status. Mr Chaturvedi said, "Our competition is mainly in the quick service restaurant sector, with the likes of Café Coffee Day and Barista. To deal with it we are launching several lounge store formats in the bigger cities, starting with Hyderabad to be followed by Bangalore and Mumbai."

Some of the lounge stores would be company owned, where employees would also be trained for other franchisee outlets.

On marketing initiatives, Mr Chaturvedi said the company would focus on field initiatives such as the recent Baskin Robbins Junior Cricket 7s tournament in keeping with its premium brand status.

Baskin Robbins entered the domestic market in 1993 in a joint venture with the Ghai Group. The company clocked a turnover of around Rs 40 crore from retailing in 2005-06 and expects the amount to go up by 30 per cent. It also garners around 35 per cent of its total revenues from institutional sales through tie-ups with hotels, restaurants and airlines.