Debonairs Pizza calls it a day in India

Debonairs Pizza, which had announced its re-entry into the Indian market through a master franchisee agreement with Diwa Hospitality, has decided to shut shop in India.

“After committing extensive resources to evaluating the group’s continued presence in this market, management concluded that the commercial case for investment was no longer viable. Accordingly, in consultation with the group’s partner, the master licence agreement was terminated in April 2015 and the two Debonairs Pizza restaurants in Mumbai closed,” South Africa-based Famous Brands said in an intimation to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

Famous Brands is Africa’s leading quick service and casual dining restaurant franchisor and also has representation in the UK. Its franchise brand portfolio includes Steers, Wimpy, Debonairs Pizza, Mugg & Bean, FishAways, Longhorn, House of Coffees, Coffee Couture, Brazilian Cafe, tashas, KEG, McGinty’s, O’Hagan’s, Giramundo, Vovo Telo, Milky Lane, Juicy Lucy, The Brewers Guild, Blacksteer Home of Shisanyama, Europa, Fego Caffé and Net Café.
The group manufactures and supplies its franchisees, the retail trade and broader hospitality industry with a wide range of meat, cheese, sauces, bakery, ice-cream, coffee, other hot beverage products, fruit juice and mineral water products.

Debonairs Pizza had two outlets in India in Mumbai with plans to expand further. The pizza chain had announced its initial foray into the Indian market in 2003 but had closed within a year itself. Jubilant Foodworks, whose subsidiary operates Domino’s Pizza in India, is the market leader in the organised pizza market in India with a share of around 54 per cent and a 70 per cent share in pizza home delivery. It currently operates around 465 stores across 105 cities.