More Gyu-Kaku Restaurants to open
PDS Holdings Co, operated by a son of Panlert Baiyoke who owns Baiyoke Group of Hotels, plans to open five new Japanese barbecue restaurants under the Gyu-Kaku brand next year following the massive response from the market.
Currently, the firm operates two, located at Thaniya and Thong Lor, with an investment of Bt5 million and Bt10 million respectively. They opened their doors to customers early this year.
Piyalert Baiyoke, managing director of PDS Holdings, said they had got the licence for three years. Under an agreement, it will open three restaurants during the period. Currently, Gyu-Kaku barbecue chain has gained wide popularity in Japan and worldwide, with 700 branches in 25 nations.
Under the expansion plan, each restaurant will require an investment of between Bt5 million and Bt10 million, depending on size and location. The new outlets will also be under a franchise agreement. A central kitchen will be set up at Pratunam to stock and supply raw materials to other outlets in order to ensure quality and secure future growth.
He said the response after the opening has been beyond his expectation. As a result, investment returns from the first outlet in Thaniya, spread over 100 square metres, took only four months after operations began, thanks largely to the popularity of Japanese cuisine in Thailand. Customers are both Thais and Japanese. The spending per head at Thaniya is between Bt800-Bt1,000 and there are about 100 items on the menu.
The company expects its sales to reach Bt60 million this year and will rise to Bt100 million next year.
According to a market analyst, Japanese restaurants have started to gain in popularity in the last five years. The outlook remains positive and many new openings are in the pipeline by new and existing operators to cash in on the trend. Many of them have gone with new retail projects. So far, the market is valued at about Bt11 billion, with an annual growth of more than 10 per cent.
