Nirula’s, an established Indian hospitality brand, has chalked out ambitious expansion plans and is hoping to have pan-India presence by 2009. The company is focusing equally on its large-format restaurant chains and the small-format quick-service restaurants as also the snack bars and ice-cream kiosks.
“We are aiming at a pan-India presence by 2009. The openings will be across all verticals, be it 100-150 square feet snack bars, 250-350 square feet food courts, or 500-800 square feet restaurants at fuel stations. We are also moving to tier II cities,” Samir Kukreja, CEO & managing director, Nirula’s, told Indiaretailing on the sidelines of a seminar on ‘Leveraging HR as a Strategic Tool for Corporate Excellence,’ organised by National Restaurants Association of India (NRAI) in New Delhi.
Asked about the new formats from Nirula’s, Kukreja explained, “We are revitalising the Nirula’s brand, and are in process of strengthening its positioning by innovating the service design and improving product quality. The Potpourri restaurant with salad bar is a new concept that we had introduced in India, and 25-30 more Potpourris are in order, as part of expansions.”
Kukreja also revealed that Nirula’s is in talks with HPCL and BPCL to open at their fuel stations.
Commenting on the NRAI seminar, Kukreja said: “This is a vital exercise for hospitality industry, as this not only helps in networking, but also helps us to find solutions to many problems and obstructions that we may be facing. Exchange of ideas and understanding of various business models that we get through such seminars is helpful.” Kukreja is vice-president of NRAI.
Navis Capital Partners’ managing director Samir Kuckreja acquired the Nirula’s Group of Companies in June 2006. The new team at Nirula’s undertook a massive brand revamp exercise while retaining the brand name of Nirula’s.
The Synovate Hotspots Report 2007 mentions Nirula’s as the only Indian food chain to be in the top five, among MNCs in India.
– Ranjan Kaplish
