Just Falafel, the home-grown UAE food chain, plans to open 200 stores in the United Kingdom over the next five years as it seeks to spread its brand internationally.
The food company has committed to opening 25 locations in the UK, primarily in London, before the end of next year and aims to launch a total of 200 stores in five years across the country through a number of franchise agreements.
"It's a market we take extremely seriously and we wanted to have an objective on the market," said Fadi Malas, the chief executive of Just Falafel.
"Two hundred is extremely doable. McDonald's has more than 1,200 stores in the UK, and there are a few more Subways. With 200 stores, we are not being that aggressive for the UK."
Just Falafel will open its first outlet in the UK on Monmouth Street in Covent Garden next month. Outside London, stores are planned for Cambridge and Exeter.
Mr Malas said the brand had received about 700 emails from potential franchise partners in the UK and had met 150 people, of which a "handful" had been chosen to open stores.
Just Falafel was targeting business districts, high streets and malls to open chains, Mr Malas said.
It was investing in the infrastructure and training to deal with a large pool of franchise partners.
Hermann Behrens, the chief executive of The Brand Union Middle East, a marketing and branding consultancy, said Just Falafel had quickly and successfully built a strong brand in the Emirates, but that it would be difficult to achieve the same presence in the UK.
"I do not think it's easy," said Mr Behrens. "It's a tough old market when it comes to food and fast food, especially in the UK."
Revenues from the UK fast food industry were estimated to decline at an average annual rate of 2.2 per cent over the five years from 2008 to next year to £5.29 billion (Dh31.31bn), according to Ibis World, a research company.
Mr Behrens said that Just Falafel would have to employ more traditional forms of mass media advertising to attract customers, rather than social media, which has been a notable success for the brand in the Middle East.
"Falafel is a very basic product, but they have created a lot of interest around it with different formats," he said.
Founded in the UAE in 2007, Just Falafel is now present in Lebanon, Jordan, Oman and Qatar, with the UK and Saudi Arabia to be added before the end of the year.
The food chain has 23 stores and plans to open one outlet a week for the remainder of the year.
"It's difficult to say how we are going to grow over the next five years," said Mr Malas. "But if you think that we will be doubling our size in the next quarter, we might be able to do the same in the quarter after. It's a fast-growing company."
rjones@thenational.ae
If you go
Flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh with a stop in Yangon from Dh3,075, and Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Phnom Penh with its partner Bangkok Airlines from Dh2,763. These trips take about nine hours each and both include taxes. From there, a road transfer takes at least four hours; airlines including KC Airlines (www.kcairlines.com) offer quick connecting flights from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville from about $100 (Dh367) return including taxes. Air Asia, Malindo Air and Malaysian Airlines fly direct from Kuala Lumpur to Sihanoukville from $54 each way. Next year, direct flights are due to launch between Bangkok and Sihanoukville, which will cut the journey time by a third.
The stay
Rooms at Alila Villas Koh Russey (www.alilahotels.com/ kohrussey) cost from $385 per night including taxes.
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Equinox
Price, base / as tested: Dh76,900 / Dh110,900
Engine: 2.0L, turbocharged in-line four-cylinder
Gearbox: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 252hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: Torque: 352Nm @ 2,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.5L / 100km
MATCH INFO
UAE Division 1
Abu Dhabi Harlequins 12-24 Abu Dhabi Saracens
Ad Astra
Director: James Gray
Stars: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones
Five out of five stars
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
South Africa 66 (Tries: De Allende, Nkosi, Reinach (3), Gelant, Steyn, Brits, Willemse; Cons: Jantjies 8)
Canada 7 (Tries: Heaton; Cons: Nelson)
Studying addiction
This month, Dubai Medical College launched the Middle East’s first master's programme in addiction science.
Together with the Erada Centre for Treatment and Rehabilitation, the college offers a two-year master’s course as well as a one-year diploma in the same subject.
The move was announced earlier this year and is part of a new drive to combat drug abuse and increase the region’s capacity for treating drug addiction.
Start times
5.55am: Wheelchair Marathon Elites
6am: Marathon Elites
7am: Marathon Masses
9am: 10Km Road Race
11am: 4Km Fun Run
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SHAITTAN
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Off-roading in the UAE: How to checklist
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The details
Heard It in a Past Life
Maggie Rogers
(Capital Records)
3/5
