Business Times

There are plans to open more than 100 Papa John’s restaurants in Malaysia, including Sabah and Sarawak, says the Berjaya Corp executive director

BERJAYA Pizza Company Sdn Bhd plans to invest between RM800,000 and RM1 million for its first Papa John’s restaurant in Malaysia. It is expected to be launched by year-end.

The pioneer, casual dining restaurant will be at Berjaya Times Square, the executive director of Berjaya Corporation, Datuk Francis Lee, told reporters after a signing ceremony for the development agreement between Berjaya Pizza and Papa John’s International Inc in Kuala Lumpur today.

Lee said the restaurant can seat 120 to 150 customers at a time.

“There are plans to open more than 100 Papa John’s restaurants in Malaysia including Sabah and Sarawak,” he added.

Berjaya Pizza, which also operates Starbucks, Wendy’s and Kenny Rogers Roasters, has been granted the first right of refusal for the potential expansion of the Papa John Pizza franchise to Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.

“We are working with Papa John’s to expand to other Asian markets within a year,” Lee said.

On the impact of fuel price increase on the company’s business, he said some aspects of it were affected.

“The Kenny Rogers franchise is not affected. In fact, we are witnessing a growth. But sales at Starbuck’s has slightly declined. I believe customers will in three to six months time revert to their usual lifestyle and business will improve,” he explained.

Untuk perancangan jangka panjang pula, Berjaya Pizza bercadang untuk mengembangkan perniagaannya ke Singapura, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand serta Filipina.

Lee said in line with its business expansion plans, Berjaya Pizza had entered into negotiations with several parties for future franchise development.

“We are still talking. Most of the franchises are in the United States. We hope to sign at least one agreement by the end of next year. Being a major player in the food and beverage industry, we can bring to Malaysia whatever franchise is available in the market.

“But we are rather selective. We don’t want products in the same food category,” Lee said. — Bernama