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Nirula's to get makeover as 'national brand'
By Murali Krishnan, New Delhi: The sale of Nirula's, the home grown fast-food chain that was seen as India's answer to McDonald's, to a joint venture between a Malaysia-based private equity fund and an Indian hotelier is likely to see the company evolve as a "national brand."
"For starters, we are going to outsource our food products. One of the biggest constraints all this while has been that raw material has been indigenous," Samir Kuckreja, newly appointed managing director of the chain, told IANS in an interview, following the acquisition.
Earlier owned by cousins Deepak and Lalit Nirula, the chain has been bought over by Kuala Lumpur-based Navis Capital Partners and Kuckreja's company and will be headed by Kuckreja, Lalit's nephew.
"We are going to capitalise on the brand, refresh and repackage the menus and start more outlets across the country so that it becomes a national brand. All this is going to happen soon," said Kuckreja.
Currently, the chain with over 60 outlets operating in five states has over 50,000 clients every day. Besides the fast-food outlets, Nirula's also has business hotels, ice cream parlours and food processing plants.
Navis Capital Partners, an eight-year old private equity fund based in Malaysia. manages $500 million in capital commitments and has interests in various sectors including hospitality, food processing, car rental and outdoor media in eight countries across Asia.
Prior to accepting the position with Nirula's, Samir was with Sanjay Narang- owned Mars Hotels and Restaurants in Mumbai that run cricket icon Sachin Tendulkars's restaurant 'Tendulkar'.
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