MK group to invest Bt400m annually in 5-year expansion 

Rit Thirakomen, chairman and chief executive officer, said the group would open 15 MK branches in Thailand this year, together with 25 Yayoi and five Miyazaki Japanese restaurants. 
Three or four franchised restaurants will be added to each market where the group operates abroad.
“We are also open for acquisition deals with local select companies in food, services and retailing, so that they will be able to utilise our infrastructure and logistics facility. 
“We have a good capability to grow the business together with our potential partners,” he said.
MK Restaurants Group’s sales rose 4 per cent to Bt15.49 billion last year, but its profit spurted 13 per cent to Bt2.1 billion. It projects growth at 5-9 per cent annually for five years.
The group’s first MK Live flagship store in Thailand was officially unveiled yesterday. It will cater to health-conscious consumers and those with modern attitudes. 
MK hopes this will reinforce its leadership in the nearly Bt400-billion Thai food industry. 
The first MK Live started welcoming guests on the first of this month in the Helix Quarter of the EmQuartier shopping centre with 135 seats.
The group operates more than 600 outlets in Thailand under eight brands – MK Restaurants, MK Gold Restaurants, Yayoi Japanese Restaurant, Hakata Ramen, Miyazaki Teppanyaki, Na Siam Thai Restaurant, Le Siam Thai Restaurant and Le Petit, a coffee shop and bakery concept. 
It counts more than 40 franchised outlets in Asian countries, including Japan, Vietnam, Laos and Singapore. 
In Singapore, the group has set up a joint venture to operate its restaurants in the country, including MK, Yayoi and Miyazaki.
Rit said that under the third-generation management team, MK Restaurant Group had outlined a major expansion plan for 2017 to cash in on the continuous growth of the local food industry, predicted by Kasikorn Research Centre at 2-4 per cent to about Bt390 billion this year.
“MK Live is a new business model, designed to offer a new dining experience, particularly for the new generation, through the fusion of their lifestyles with meals under the guidance of the MK brand identity. 
“The flagship store affirms |MK’s leading position as a caring |and continually learning food-|business operator. 
“Through extensive study and planning on marketing strategy, MK Live is believed to be a new selling point and new impetus in growing MK’s business,” he said.
Tantawan Thirakomen, assistant marketing director, said MK Live was a new suki restaurant business designed to serve teenagers, young adults and excitement-seeking families. 
“‘Live’ echoes freshness and liveliness, the main concept of the store design. 
“The store is decorated to reflect a vegetable-growing greenhouse, furnished with natural decorative items – wood, trees and rocks – as well as hydroponic vegetables displayed on the walls,” she said.
The store features a Live Showcase open kitchen where customers can see chefs working on their meals, including meatballs and dim sum. 
The kitchen boasts such ingredients as lobsters from Canada, scallops from the United States and wagyu beef from Japan.
“We created MK Live out of the conviction that it has the potential to be a prosperous brand. To open a new MK Live store, we need the right location to fit the store’s special concept. 
“And flagship stores require the world’s best ingredients, special activities and innovations for greater customer convenience,” she said.