New Delhi: Exit a movie hall and it leads you to a sprawling food court — that's the strategic aim behind Ajay Bijli's 30 per cent stake acquisition in Amit Burman's Lite Bites.
Lite Bite has invested a total of Rs 200 crore in this venture and aims to cross the Rs 1000 crore revenue mark in four years’ time with the aim to offer you ‘food union’ — a food court you will soon see adjoining the new PVR Cinemas.
Asked about the strength of this partnership, Ajay Bijli says: “Even though real estate is a high factor, because we take bulk real estate from a developer, I think our rates are much more attractive.”
So where real estate will be cheaper, thanks to PVR, you can expect a good mix of food brands from Lite Bite, with local flavours topping your choice of a meal.
Depending on the location, if I have to go to Lucknow or Ludhiana, I make it a local person for one or two outlets to give it a local flavour to the food court,” says Amit Burman, Vice-Chairman of Dabur India and Chairman of Lite Bite.
Multiplexes and food courts are the biggest anchors for any mall. And with 250 new malls expected to come up by 2010, these businesses are sure shot money-makers.
No wonder then new players are making a foray into this space. Retail man Kishore Biyani has taken a lead in organising the food court business in malls, with Spoon, which is a joint venture between Blue Foods and the Future Group. It’s already seeing an average daily footfall of about 6,000 per store in each of its seven outlets in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.
Spoon plans to open at least seven more stores by end of this financial year and Lite Bite is looking at 200 of them in four years time. But it remains to be seen if Spoon scores over the filmi combo offer of the Food Union.
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