Dubai?s Landmark to rustle up Chinese restaurant chain in India

Dubai-based Landmark Group is contemplating to capture a share of the organised hospitality sector in India. After announcing ?The Yellow Chilli? Indian food retail chain in tie up with celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor, the group is planning to start a Chinese chain of restaurants named ?Yang Tse?.

The company has two Chinese food counters in Bangalore and Delhi branded as ?Yang Tse?, but now wants to extend this brand into a full fledged chain of restaurants, starting with Bangalore the coming March. It is also likely to follow this up with outlets in Delhi and Mumbai. The company has also trained three chefs in China and Hong Kong for the project.

The group has also developed a specialised 5,000 sq feet research and development (R&D) centre, which caters to training, research, documentation, and processes in hospitality for all its brands. Ravi Saxena, managing director of the company?s hotels, leisure and restaurants businesses in India, says, “We are investing in learning so that we can add value by offering quality food at a cheaper price.” The company is investing about Rs 1 crore per annum in its R&D centre.

Currently, the group has its presence in the hospitality sector through Polynation, which is a food court and Fun City, an amusement area for kids, at five locations in India. “We are planning invest, Rs 70 crore to open 35 food courts and about Rs 100-125 crore for 25 Fun City outlets in the coming five years,” adds Saxena.

The group is also looking forward to January 2008, for launching its first ‘The Yellow Chilli’ outlet in Pune, followed by Delhi in February and Hyderabad in March. It is planning to invest Rs 55 crore to set up 35 restaurants in the coming five years and invest about Rs 10 crore in its branding and communications.

In the next 10 years, the company plans to open 500 coffee outlets with a global coffee chain, with plans to invest Rs 40 crore to launch 90 outlets in the first four years. The first outlet is expected to open in Mumbai by February next, followed by a launch in New Delhi in June and Bangalore later on.