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Economic Times
3 days ago
- Business
- 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.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Jubilant FoodWorks stays off price hikes to protect its market share
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. Productivity Tool Zero to Hero in Microsoft Excel: Complete Excel guide By Metla Sudha Sekhar View Program Finance Introduction to Technical Analysis & Candlestick Theory By Dinesh Nagpal View Program Finance Financial Literacy i e Lets Crack the Billionaire Code By CA Rahul Gupta View Program Digital Marketing Digital Marketing Masterclass by Neil Patel By Neil Patel View Program Finance Technical Analysis Demystified- A Complete Guide to Trading By Kunal Patel View Program Productivity Tool Excel Essentials to Expert: Your Complete Guide By Study at home View Program Artificial Intelligence AI For Business Professionals Batch 2 By Ansh Mehra View Program 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. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Experts Warn If You See This Bug In Your Yard, Do This Quickly Undo "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. Live Events "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
3 days ago
- Business
- 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.
Time of India
28-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
India's chicken craze takes wing as Gen Z, millennials drive unprecedented surge in demand
It's not every day that you catch the chief executive of an Rs 8,000 crore restaurant empire spending his morning hunting for… chicken wings. Yet that's exactly what Sameer Khetarpal , CEO of Jubilant FoodWorks , the company that runs the pizza chain Domino's in India, has been doing of late. A sudden demand surge for chicken wings has caught the company off guard, sending its CEO scrambling to secure enough meat and forcing him to ration supplies. 'I spend every Monday morning with my sourcing team to source chicken wings because we are constrained on supply of chicken wings,' Khetarpal told analysts during an earnings call last month. 'So we had to ration chicken wings and, in fact, stop the business in North and West to serve South and East (which are larger non-veg markets),' he said. The shortage stems from the unexpectedly demand the company is seeing for its new fried-chicken menu. The Jubilant CEO said he never expected the February launch of the new menu would 'exceed expectations', calling it a Rs 1,000 crore business potential segment. Across the restaurant industry, a similar trend is emerging. Chicken legs are losing flavour among younger consumers. Gen Z and Millennials are gorging on chicken wings and fried chicken, driving an unprecedented demand for the meat, says restaurant chains and the fresh meat industry. The demand surge comes as relief for restaurant industry that has been grappling with consumers cutting back on eating out for eight quarters. But the demand has outstripped supplies for now. 'Wings have become a go-to choice for group occasions, party orders, and OTT binging. They're easy to eat, easy to share, and low-commitment—fitting perfectly into India's growing 'snackification' trend, where consumers prefer multiple smaller, tasty meals over one heavy main,' says Kapil Grover, group chief marketing and digital officer, Restaurant Brands Asia that owns Burger King in India. Chicken legs, on the other hand, are finding themselves in a tough spot. Despite being meatier, they don't feel as juicy nor do they pack the crispy, dip-friendly punch of wings, industry executives said. They're also costlier per serving. Global influences are also frying up the demand. There's a lot of Western and South Korean cultural influence on younger consumers, many of whom find pairing fried chicken and wings with beer or gin trendy. Grover said the rise of Korean pop culture—from K-Pop to K-Dramas—has led to a surge in Korean cuisines such as wings. To be sure, the supply shortage has not reached crisis level yet even as demand forecasts and supply plans have gone haywire for now. While some—like Domino's—are forced to ration and manage regional supplies, most have reached out to their vendors to increase supplies. Another reason for the current situation: a bird has only two wings while chicken is mostly sold as whole. The founder of a leading fresh meat ecommerce platform said 'there is a huge demand right now for wings. But if you don't need the whole bird, then how do you price the wings only?' 'How many kilos of chicken do you need to go through to get the desired number of wings?' he said, requesting anonymity. According to Euromonitor International, the market size of chicken limited restaurants defined as restaurants where the primary offering is chicken only, inclusive of dine-ins and take away, was estimated to be Rs 6,750 crore for the calendar year 2024. This market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 9% till 2029. Kabir Jeet Singh, founder, Burger Singh, said, 'It's a bit of an elitist item on the menu, as you need to sell at least six of them in one serving,' he said. Arvind RP, chief marketing officer at McDonald's India (West and South), said despite launching fried chicken during the pandemic, the category has demonstrated consistent growth especially in the South, where it has significantly boosted the average unit volumes.
The Print
04-06-2025
- Politics
- The Print
Famagusta & its unsung heroes—story of fierce tank battle that turned the tide in 1971 India-Pakistan war
'He was a simple and stoic soldier from Nagaur district of Rajasthan; kind, soft-spoken and deeply affectionate,' Brigadier Karan Singh Rathore (Retd), an officer who served alongside Jodha, said to ThePrint. A native of Husenpura village in Rajasthan's Nagaur district, his passing marks the end of a living chapter from the Battle of Basantar during the 1971 India-Pakistan War. The battle is remembered for the bravery of Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal, who was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra. New Delhi: Risaldar Major (Honorary Captain) Nathu Singh Jodha (Retd), the last surviving crew member of the Indian Army's legendary Centurion tank Famagusta, died Saturday at the age of 79 due to age-related medical complications. 'I had the privilege of serving alongside him in the regiment. Never once did he complain about not being adequately recognised, nor did he ever boast about his considerable achievements.' The story of the Famagusta, though, is not his alone. It was manned by a four-member crew: Second Lieutenant Khetarpal as tank commander, Sowar Nathu Singh Jodha as gunner, Sowar Nand Singh as loader and Sowar Prag Singh Rathore as driver. Cramped inside the Famagusta's 6-foot turret, the four young men, all under the age of 24 then, held their ground against repeated Pakistani armoured assaults, fighting through smoke, fire and relentless shelling in one of the defining tank battles of the 1971 war. Famagusta, a Centurion Mk 7 tank of the Poona Horse regiment, was at the centre of one of the fiercest engagements of the 1971 war, the Battle of Basantar. Weighing around 50 tonnes and equipped with a 17-pounder main gun, the Centurion was, at that time, one of the most capable tanks in the Indian Army's arsenal. Also read: Lt Col & his family among 6 missing after landslide hits army camp in north Sikkim. 3 found dead so far Holding the line at Basantar The capture of the Shakargarh region in the western sector was critical during the war, as it could have allowed Pakistan's forces to sever the vital connection between Jammu and Kashmir and the rest of India. Subsequently, the Battle of Basantar, fought from 4 to 16 December, emerged as one of the most significant engagements during the war. Despite facing heavily fortified Pakistani defences and extensive minefields, the Indian troops executed a coordinated offensive that secured key territory and pushed the frontline westward. Engineers from the Indian Army's 9 Engineer Regiment breached minefields as deep as 1.6 km while under direct enemy fire. Between 15 and 16 December, troops of the 47th Infantry Brigade secured a bridgehead across the Basantar River, clearing the path for the 17th Poona Horse's Centurion tanks to advance. What followed were fierce duels between Indian Centurions and AMX-13s and Pakistani Pattons. As the enemy surged forward, 21-year-old Khetarpal, with less than 6 months of service, was ordered up to reinforce the line. Inside the Famagusta tank, Khetarpal gave the command to his crew to fight from position. Gunner Sowar Nathu Singh opened fire with pinpoint accuracy, while loader Sowar Nand Singh worked relentlessly to feed the 20-pounder gun amid thick smoke and deafening blasts. Together, they knocked out 10 enemy tanks, halting the Pakistani advance. But as the last of the turret ammunition was spent, the crew began traversing the gun to access rounds stored in the hull. At that moment, a Pakistani anti-tank missile pierced the tank's side pistol port, killing Sowar Nand Singh instantly and grievously wounding both Khetarpal and Sowar Nathu Singh. Driver Rathore, the fourth crew member, climbed out under fire and pulled the wounded out of the disabled tank. He was hit by machine-gun fire while attempting to save his comrades. Khetarpal later succumbed to his injuries and was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra, while the two other crew members survived. By the end of the battle, Indian forces had reportedly destroyed over 48 Pakistani tanks, decimating one infantry brigade and one armoured brigade. The tank, Famagusta, was later recovered and now stands preserved at the Armoured Corps Centre and School (ACC&S) in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. The man behind the gun While Khetarpal was honoured with India's highest wartime gallantry award, the story of his crew remained largely untold. All three crew members—Jodha, Rathore and Sowar Nand Singh—were reportedly recommended for the Vir Chakra by their commanding officer. Lieutenant Colonel Hanut Singh received the Mahavir Chakra for his role in the battle. Further, sources said that Jodha and Rathore were awarded a Mention in Dispatches, meanwhile, Sowar Nand Singh, who died inside the tank, was not officially recognised. Despite his life-altering leg injuries post the battle, Jodha continued to serve with his regiment. He went on to become a Master Gunner and gunnery instructor, dedicating himself to training young tank crews. According to those who served with him, he remained deeply committed to Poona Horse. Survived by his wife and two sons, Hony Capt Nathu Singh Jodha's funeral in Husenpura saw a large turnout of residents and ex-servicemen. With the passing of Hony Capt Nathu Singh Jodha, the last living link to the Centurion tank Famagusta is gone. The tank now stands quietly in Ahmednagar, its scars still visible, a reminder of December 1971, when four young men, one officer and three sowars, fought fiercely from within its steel walls and helped change the course of the war. (Edited by Sugita Katyal) Also read: Losses are not important, outcomes are—CDS General Anil Chauhan on Operation Sindoor 'setbacks'
