Newstrack

Pantaloon Retail to launch Yatra restaurants

Rouhan Sharma

Pantaloon Retail India (part of Kishore Biyani's The Future group) is launching a budget chain of thali-style restaurants called Yatra by the end of this fiscal. It is also planning to enter the burgeoning mid-market hospitality segment but those plans are still on the drawing board.

Confirming Yatra launch, The Future group CEO Kishore Biyani said, "These will be what we call our thali restaurants." Offering cuisine from across India and the world, the first of these restaurants will open in Mumbai next month. The second restaurant will be opened in Ahmedabad. The company plans to roll out the chain across the country eventually. On the group's entry into the hospitality segment, Biyani said, "It's too early to comment on these plans, but this will be our fourth venture."

According to Shishir Baijal, managing director, Kshitij Investment Advisory, the asset management arm of The Future group, "The foray into the hospitality sector will be of the mixed-use development type. We are likely to go functional with the first of these properties in about 18 months from now." Mixed-use properties are immensely popular in more developed countries and typically have a mall, multiplex, casinos, restaurants and a hotel, among other entertainment options. The Future group is planning to build a multiplex in about 30-35 of its mixed-use properties.

The group also has an agreement with multiplex chain INOX Leisure under which INOX has the first right of refusal to set up its multiplex within the mixed-use property. At present, INOX has about twelve multiplexes across the country and the agreement with The Future group will help it extend its presence. "If any of the three components are in a cyclical downturn, it will be cross-subsidised by the others. Since no hotel registers good occupancy levels right from the time it opens, the earnings from the multiplex and mall can cross-subsidise the initial performance of the hotel” says Amol Rao, research analyst at Pioneer Intermediaries. Other major players looking to set up mixed-use properties are Trent and Reliance, among others.