 "Popeyes")
Jubilant FoodWorks takes Popeye to the North after expanding in the Southern part of the country.
It is opening four stores within a week in Delhi-NCR and expects Popeye to become the fastest quick-service restaurant brand to reach Rs 1,000 crore in the country in the next three to four years.
“As we plan to reach Rs 1,000 crore over the next three to four years, you will only see the pace of expansion of Popeye stores only increasing,” said Gaurav Pande, executive vice president and business head at Popeye, told Business Standard.
So far, Jubilant FoodWorks has expanded largely in the south and has 32 stores there, however, Pande believes that there is still room to open more stores in the south and the company has only scratched the surface. The reason the company has focused on phased expansion is due to it only serving fresh chicken, Pande explained. He said that its store expansion in geographies requires creating capacity and supply chain capabilities.
As far as demand is concerned, Pande believes that it is cyclical and demand will revive for the QSR industry.
"I think it will take a little bit of time before this corrects out and I still think it's a phase. Reality is that these cyclical things will keep on happening. In the long term, this industry has a really long way to go,” Pande said.
He added, “it will be one of the fastest-growing industries leading the consumer story, the consumption story of India.”
