Living Ventures plans to foray into Tier-II cities

Living Ventures Private Limited, a one-year-old startup promoted by Rohit Barker and Shailesh Jain, has forayed into the restaurant business by opening its first outlet 612 East in Bengaluru.

The company plans to build a portfolio of at least two outlets in Bengaluru by end of this year. While it plans to go overseas, it also plans to expand into Tier-II cities. Talking about the diversified strategy for expansion, Barker said.

“We want to invest in those markets contrary features of increasing levels of disposable income and paucity of places for a good nightlife or recreation. While another outlet in Bengaluru is definitely on the cards, we are more interested in expanding into Colombo, Bali, and some Tier-II cities in India, including Guwahati and Chandigarh.”

The company is already scouting locations for a year-end launch in Colombo.

On international expansion, Barker said, “Overseas, we want to expand into those cities, which are big on tourism, but even the locals enjoy a good time.”

“Both, mine and Shylesh’s ground experience in the entertainment space gives us the confidence in the markets that we want to expand into,” he asserts.

“Markets like these offer high returns on comparatively lower investment as operating costs are lower. Tier-II cities are hungrier for entertainment, and we want to fill that huge market gap that exists in these cities.”

Set up at an investment of Rs 4 crore, the Bengaluru outlet is already marking revenues to the tune of Rs 1 crore in its first month. With average billing at Rs 1,800 per person, the restaurant is witnessing footfalls of about 350 people on weekends.

The company will adopt a ‘wait and watch’ strategy before expanding into Tier-I cities in India. “Tier-I markets in India are saturated and have become expensive. We may consider opening an outlet in Hyderabad, but there is no concrete plan on that front,” concluded Jain. With the venture self funded, the duo is not looking to raise funds in the near future.