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February 26, 2013
Ashish K Tiwari & Nupur Anand, DNA (Daily News & Analysis)
Mumbai, February 26, 2013
Imagine
walking into a McDonald’s outlet for a McSpicy Paneer burger
and also getting to pick up a cup of cappuccino from a Cafe Coffee
Day (CCD) counter inside.
Going by a buzz, McDonald’s and CCD operators in India could
very well team up to create co-located stores.
Officials of both companies denied the move.
“There has been no move to tie up with or create associations
with Café Coffee Day or any other brand in India presently,”
said Smita Jatia, managing director, Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt
Ltd (McDonald’s west & south India operations).
K Ramakrishnan, president – marketing, Café Coffee Day, also refuted any such collaboration being worked out with McDonald’s.
Industry sources, however, say it makes sense for quick service restaurants (QSRs) to operate in a co-location format with rival brands that offer complementary product lines.
Call it the ‘frenemy format’, if you please. The least it can do for the players is help exploit synergies and increase footfalls and conversions by building on each other’s strengths and creating a fulfilling experience for customers.
“This may be for sharing property and floor space, for better supply chain management or for other franchisee synergies,” said Arvind Singhal, chairman, Technopak Advisors.
A recent collaboration between cafe chain Braista Lavazza and Mumbai based ice-cream chain Hokey Pokey is a case in point. Under the tie-up, those visiting Barista outlets can also savour ice cream flavours specifically launched for the cafe chain, said Rohan Mirchandani, co-founder, Hokey Pokey.
But there’s a caveat, said Devangshu Dutta, chief executive of consulting and advisory firm Third Eyesight. “Such offerings can work in certain catchment areas… But in case there is a conflict between what is being offered, then a format like this will not work.”
