RPG opens flagship cafe in Bangalore
The retail business of RPG group, which runs supermarkets under the Spencer brand, on Thursday, launched its first flagship cafe in Bangalore on M G Road. The cafe was launched in a franchise arrangement with Au Bon Pain, Boston-based bakery cafe chain which has more than 250 outlets in the USA, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.
Au Bon Pain comes to India through an exclusive joint venture between Spencer’s Retail Limited and Varin Narula, a Director & Promoter of Au Bon Pain, Thailand.
The cafe will serve a range and assortment of breakfast and lunch items such as sandwiches, harvest rice bowls, soups, salads, bread & bakery items, confectionaries, and hot and cold beverages.
Briefing reporters, RPG Retail’s President & Chief Executive Sumantra Banerjee said “Keeping in mind the cultural and local taste and preferences, the menu in India will include whole range of vegetarian dishes.” Keeping in mind Au Bon Pain’s focus on distinctive & nutritional foods, the cafe will not serve any fried food, Banerjee said.
In next six months RPG group will open 10 more cafes in Bangalore and by end 2010-11 set up 50 cafes in South India at an investment of Rs 35 crore. It has also invested Rs 7 crore in a new factory (kitchen) at Yeshwantpur, Bangalore, to produce all the food stuff that will be sold in Au Bon Pain cafes. “We will follow a hub-and-spoke model and the Bangalore factory will supply food to all 50 cafes in the south,” he added.
Apart from food, RPG group is also diversifying into apparel business. It has set up five apparel outlets under the ‘Beverly Hills Polo Club’ brand in the north. The plan is to set up 10 more in the south and in the west. The group also plans to set up ladies apparel stores under the brand name ‘Ladybird.’
