Hard Rock Cafe To start Six More outlets in three years

With its outlets gaining profits in the Indian market, US-based casual dining chain Hard Rock Cafe is planning to expand its presence in the country.

The brand will open one cafe each in Chennai and Chandigarh by the end of this year, said Sanjay Mahtani, co-founder and Executive Director, JSM Corporation, the master franchisee for Hard Rock Cafe in India and Nigeria.

The restaurant chain aims to invest Rs 30-70 crore for the development of these outlets over the next two years.

 “We are keen to expand in India, especially considering the positive response the brand has garnered here,” said Mahtani.

The casual dining chain is looking to explore a variety of models to expand its presence. While JSM Corp will set up some outlets by itself, it will also explore the joint-venture model.

 “Our Kolkata property does quite well in terms of revenue,” Mahtani said.

For expansion, Hard Rock Cafe will now look at cities that fall within the “tourist circuit,” and this could include a place like Goa. “The tourist profile in India is changing, and we will accordingly take a call on the cities where we can have new restaurants.”

One thing will, however, remain constant he said, “There will be only one Hard Rock Cafe in a city. Multiple outlets in a city dilute the brand proposition, Mahtani added. Mumbai, so far, has been the only exception to this rule.”

At present, there are two in Mumbai, and one each in Bengaluru, Delhi, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Pune and Kolkata taking the total count to eight. This apart, JSM runs one cafe at Nigeria.