Delhi High Court stops use of names similar to popular pizza chain by 15 entities
'In essence, any confusion between such products, if allowed to continue, can lead to disastrous consequences on human health. Therefore, this Court has to adopt a more cautious and stringent approach for judging the likelihood of confusion and to exercise greater care,' the Court observed.
The bench also directed food delivery platforms Swiggy and Zomato to delist or suspend the respondent entities from their services. The case was initiated by Jubilant FoodWorks Limited, which operates Domino's franchises in India, and by Domino's LLC, originally founded in the United States in 1960. The plaintiffs also asserted rights over the mark 'Dominick', which they had previously adopted.
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Economic Times
2 hours ago
- Economic Times
Jubilant FoodWorks stays off price hikes to protect its market share
Synopsis Jubilant FoodWorks, which runs Domino's in India, said it has held prices steady for 15 quarters despite rising costs, opting instead for internal cost-cutting to maintain market share. Measures include renegotiating rents, improving productivity, and shifting to local sourcing for corn and tomatoes. CEO Sameer Khetarpal said absorbing inflation and free delivery impacted margins but helped retain consumers amid intense competition. Jubilant FoodWorks, the country's largest quick service chain and operator of Domino's Pizza, said it has not increased prices over the past 15 quarters and has instead relied on cost-cutting to retain market share and increase sales amid intensifying competition and subdued demand. "We have taken several initiatives to reduce costs. We run a programme where we look at all the cost-cutting items, including discounts, rider cost, manpower productivity, support function and rental renegotiations, but we will not increase prices for consumers," Sameer Khetarpal, managing director at Jubilant FoodWorks, told ET. For instance, the company has shifted its corn sourcing from the US to India and is now working with local farmers to source tomatoes to reduce imports from the US. To counter the slowdown in discretionary spending, fast-food rivals have also stepped up value meals and price discounting, in addition to launching multiple menu options at lower price points. "The free delivery itself was a 10% hit on our margins. If you even take 4% inflation, that's nearly 20% cost we have absorbed and not given back to the consumer," Khetarpal said. While Domino's is the market leader in the pizza segment, with about half a million pizzas sold every day on average, it trails chains such as KFC in the out-of-home chicken category. "We have enough room to go and rather than counting where we are, we want to be in all metros. We are already in 20 cities in South India with Popeyes but the magnitude of the chicken market is huge," Khetarpal said.
Mint
4 hours ago
- Mint
Jubilant Food's Popeyes flexes growth muscle as Dunkin', Hong's hit pause
New Delhi: Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd, which operates Domino's pizza in India and select overseas markets, said on Wednesday that it is on track to open 30-50 stores of its fried chicken brand Popeyes every year. The company looks to accelerate expansion for its pizza chain and Popeyes, even as it looks to pause on expansion of Dunkin' and Hong's Kitchen to examine their value proposition. 'We want to open 30-50 stores every year. We are just constrained by real estate availability,' Sameer Khetarpal, chief executive officer and managing director of Jubilant FoodWorks, said in an interview with Mint on Wednesday. 'It just takes time to get the right real estate. For a new brand like Popeyes, we can't obviously go to a virgin high street or a mall,' he said. On Wednesday, Jubilant opened four Popeyes outlets across Mumbai. Globally, the Popeyes brand is part of Canadian fast food restaurant company Restaurant Brands International Inc. In 2021, Jubilant Foodworks entered into an exclusive master franchise and development agreement to develop and operate Popeyes Restaurants in India, among other markets. Popeyes made its India debut with a restaurant in Bengaluru in January 2022. It now operates over 60 stores in the major cities of the country. Popeyes is the company's fastest growing brand and the second-largest brand after Domino's. Jubilant FoodWorks operates restaurants in markets such as India, Turkey, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan and Georgia. 'In the next to six to nine months, we should get to 100 stores for Popeyes,' Khetarpal said. 'We are seeing good growth, we are seeing our margins improve. The brand is on track to scale,' he added. The CEO said that for the time being, the company has paused expansion on its other two brands—Dunkin' and Hong's Kitchen. 'We are not expanding (on these two chains), that's what we have said. At the moment, we have 30 stores each. Till the time we fix the customer value proposition, we won't expand. There is a market for both the formats, but I think the question is: where do we play and how and where do we focus. Expansion will only happen in Domino's and Popeyes,' he added. The company has yet to announce its June quarter earnings. The company's June quarter update released last month said its consolidated revenue from operations was ₹ 2,261.4 crore, up 17% year-on-year (y-o-y) . As of the quarter's end, the group's network had 3,389 stores, with a net addition of 73 during the three months. During the June quarter, Domino's India opened 61 new stores, ending the period with 2,240 stores. Domino's India's like-for-like growth came in at 11.6% for the quarter. 'We had a good quarter,' he said. 'Dine-in as a channel is growing,' the CEO said. The company has been pushing 20-minute deliveries in select cities as well as free deliveries to drive sales in an environment where consumers are becoming more value-conscious. 'Markets are very competitive—India has changed in the last 30 years. Mumbai, for instance, has the maximum number of organized quick service restaurant (QSR) outlets. Every year, it gets tougher for a new brand to enter. Our playbook is very simple—food, fast delivery (we do our own delivery, like Popeyes), the app, and then the team,' he said. The brand sells vegetarian and non-vegetarian burgers starting as low as ₹ 89 apiece. Domino's sells pizza priced as low as ₹ 49, a price point that has remained unchanged for three years now. 'For Popeyes, we are seeing good traction on dine-in as well. Dine-in is far bigger than delivery (for the brand). While, for Domino's, delivery is more dominant,' he said. Capital expenditure in the fried chicken brand is very similar to industry standards. 'While we have not disclosed it—it is higher than Domino's. We have very little debt on our books. So, we are internally funding the expansion. A lot of our capex in factories, which we want to do in Mumbai and Bangalore, that is done with. In fact, the company was free cash flow-positive last year,' he said. The promoters of HT Media Ltd, which publishes Mint, and Jubilant Foodworks are closely related. There are, however, no promoter cross-holdings.
Mint
11 hours ago
- Mint
Supreme Court rejects woman's ₹12 crore, BMW alimony demand: ‘LinkedIn profile not reliable…'
The Supreme Court on Monday stated that a LinkedIn profile cannot be used as proof of income to grant alimony, while ending an eight-year marriage dispute. The court granted her a flat in Mumbai as alimony but declined her requests for ₹ 12 crore, a BMW, and additional compensation. The top court said that the wife's claims were disproportionate and unsupported, considering an earlier settlement that both parties had agreed upon. The case gained significant attention after the wife demanded ₹ 12 crore and a flat in Mumbai from her estranged husband, according to a report by Bar and Bench. The wife relied on the husband's LinkedIn profile to claim he was still earning a lucrative salary, but the Court rejected that as credible evidence. While rejecting the woman's additional alimony claim, the court clarified, 'We refuse to place any reliance on the 'LinkedIn' profile.' The court mentioned that the husband's income had dropped significantly. The report stated that his income decreased from over ₹ 2.5 crore annually at Citi Bank to below ₹ 18 lakh in recent years, and the Court acknowledged he was no longer employed there. 'We find absolutely no reason to disbelieve the appellant's contention that he is no more in employment with Citi Bank,' the report quoted the Court. It highlighted that in 2022, the wife signed a comprehensive mutual settlement agreement, accepting a Mumbai flat and two parking spots. At that time, she did not claim ₹ 12 crore or request additional maintenance. 'As far as permanent alimony is concerned, the respondent had no such claim when entering into a settlement,' the Court added. Additionally, the Court acknowledged the wife's educational qualifications and employment history, concluding that she did not require ongoing financial support. 'The respondent-wife is also a graduate Engineer with a Post-Graduate qualification in Management and was admittedly working, even at the time of the estrangement,' it stated. The husband had agreed to give her a flat in Kalpataru Habitat in Mumbai, with two parking spaces. The Court described this as a reasonable arrangement. 'The gift of the said property by the appellant to the respondent would reasonably take care of the respondent-wife even after divorce,' the Court said.
