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Sagar Ratna chain of restaurants eyes east & west regions to tap growth
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Monday, 11 July, 2016, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Nandita Vijay, Bengaluru
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fiogf49gjkf0d fiogf49gjkf0d Sagar Ratna, a leading South Indian chain of restaurants, is now eyeing an expansion to the western and eastern markets, which will be funded through internal accruals and some growth capital.
The restaurant chain with 93 outlets accessed by over a million customers across the country has a high brand recall in most of the north India markets where 35 are located in Delhi NCR. The remaining are located on highways and various towns of northern states from Vaishnodevi to Indore in the central India.
Revealing details on the success of his chain, Murali Krishna Parna, CEO, Sagar Ratna, in an email to FnB News, stated, “The key differentiator in the wake of stiff competition for south Indian meals is making fresh food multiple number of times in a day with a focus on top quality, speedy service and cleanliness.”
Accoding to him, access to manpower for restaurant business is a big challenge which mitigates growth prospects of the restaurant chain.
In 2014, Sagar Ratna developed an in-house training module to upgrade the skills of its people on the premise of ‘more you share, more you learn.’ The training programme ‘Udaan’ saw 250 employees, including 17 assistant shift managers and 20 cashiers share their skills for career progression over the last two years.
The foods that have contributed to the chain’s highest revenue generation are masala dosa, dahi vada, rava masala dosa and filter coffee as customers come back for these regular fares.
Parna informed, “Information technology has reformed our business service model. It helps control costs, reach out to loyal customers, provide convenience with online order booking, e-payment facility through mobile apps and the availability of Sagar Ratna on various digital platforms such as Zomato and Swiggy for quick ordering and delivery. Besides, customers can provide their valuable suggestions and feedback round the clock on Sagar Ratna’s website, Facebook and Instagram pages. Every customer review is looked at by all key strategic top management team and is followed to an appropriate closure within prescribed time-frame.”
He added, “The current scene for restaurants in India is that ‘same store’ dine-in sales are a challenge in the industry. However, disruptive discounting has been stopped lately by the food technology players entering the space. But the food delivery business definitely seems to be increasing in double-digit for many.”
Among the visible trends ‘on-the-move’ food consumption is on the rise. Customers are expanding the menu beyond their comfort zone and trying new foods. On weekdays there is higher demand for convenience foods and during weekends the concept of leisure eating segment is on a growth curve.
Private equity and venture capitalists are receptive to fund the restaurant model of business. Nevertheless depending on the profitability and scalability of the model funds are available, according to Parna.
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