Chowking UAE franchise owner eyes more stores

MANILA, Philippines - MANILA, Philippines - For someone who just stumbled upon the food business by accident, Ahmed Lafir surely has the Midas touch for a good brand.

The Indian-born managing director of Dubai-based Tradeline L.L.C., a leading conglomerate specializing in fertilizers, petrochemicals, agro commodities, as well as steel and aluminum products, has been expanding his Chowking franchise in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the rate of three stores a year with an average sales growth of over 90 percent in the past three years. And while many pundits say the UAE is in for a hard landing as the global economic crisis stalls its property boom - the bedrock of much of its success - Lafir retains his unwavering faith in the Filipino brand.

In a recent visit to attend Chowking’s franchise convention in Baguio City, Lafir even unveiled plans to open more stores in the UAE and in other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member-countries such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar in the future. By yearend, Tradeline will have a network of 14 Chowking stores in the UAE alone, including those in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Lafir said he is also in talks with Jollibee Food Corp., Chowking’s parent company, to open stores in the UAE.

Accidental investor

The stern determination on Lafir’s face was a far cry from five years ago when he became the white knight for the Chowking franchise. From a mere silent partner, Lafir found himself thrust into the frontlines and making his first visit to Manila “to see for myself what I was buying by default.”

“My initial problem was that I did not have any inkling about Filipino food. Chowking was being promoted as Filipino food with a Chinese twist,” he said.

Being new to the game, Lafir had to adjust tremendously to the business. “People were at first doubtful about our food, saying it’s not exactly the same Chowking they had back home in the Philippines. I had no idea about the serving size or the size of the store and the type of service, whether fast food-style or fine dining. I just followed my heart.”

After the success of his first Chowking store in April 2003, Lafir admitted he was quite hesitant to expand, not knowing if the market was ready for another store. But it took only a year before he realized the strong brand potential of Chowking in the UAE, which plays host to an estimated 400 million Filipinos.

“Filipinos go to the name they know best. They usually patronize their own brand,” Lafir said.

Expansion strategy

Despite the home court advantage, he said Chowking UAE deliberately “did not follow the Filipino model.” Beyond the typical Chowking fare — noodles, dimsum and chicken — Chowking UAE also serves up other Filipino home-style dishes such as bulalo (beef and bone marrow soup) and kare-kare (oxtail or tripe stew). The UAE stores are also more spacious and can seat up to 200 people for parties. To keep up with demand, Tradeline has also set up its own commissary that can cater to up to 50 stores and its own research and development team. Its Chowking business now provides jobs to 400 people of various nationalities.

While Chowking in the UAE will continue to target the Filipino market, he said, “we will also improve our menu to attract others” such as the large population of Indians and Africans. “Still, Filipinos will be our core market as they’re the captive market for the brand and we don’t want to take on risks,” he stressed.

Lafir sees the global economic turmoil as a business hiccup more than a malaise. “Our business is still the least hit. Our Chowking franchise business is even faring better than our other businesses like commodities,” he added.

Whatever the market condition, the accidental investor is now more confident of riding out the storm and navigating amid turbulence. “I don’t have any regrets [entering this business]. It gave me confidence to diversify into other businesses,” Lafir said. “I now know that I can be successful in any business if I put my heart into it.”