interview
EVER EXPANDING LIZ O’REILLY With a prestigious award under its belt and aggressive growth plans for the future, BTM speaks to CEO Faisal Jawad about what’s in store for the Jawad Business Group.
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home-grown success story, Jawad Business Group operates around 600 outlets and employs around 5,400 staff across the GCC, with 171 outlets and 2,600 workers in Bahrain alone. Last year the group grew its turnover by nine per cent and it recently took home the coveted Franchisee of the Year Award for one of its most popular brands, Papa John’s. “Jawad Business Group won the award for having delivered double-digit comparable sales growth for three consecutive years in Bahrain, the UAE, Qatar,and Oman and also having pizza scores in excess of 9.5 on a scale of 10. This award is also testimony to the consumer acceptance of Papa John’s as their preferred pizza,” says Faisal. “We competed with 48 other franchisees. All our franchise markets were in the top 10 worldwide and it is a matter of immense pride that Bahrain was number one in the world.
44 May 2015
Faisal Jawad
“This award means a lot to us. It is an acknowledgement of the work done by Jawad Business Group in establishing Papa John’s Pizza as the preferred pizza in its franchise markets. With an 89-store portfolio, we are amongst the largest Papa John’s Pizza franchisees in the world and we hope to open our 100th store in the next 24 months.” And though a planned IPO (initial public offering) is not now going ahead, there are still plans for expansion in other markets. Faisal says: “We have realised that an IPO may not work in the GCC markets as the equity culture is still in its infancy and the markets lack depth. The expansion into Syria couldn’t proceed in light of the situation in the country. We presently operate six restaurants in Erbil in Northern Iraq and are looking to open three more restaurants in this market this year. We see this as a launch pad into the wider Iraqi
market in the years to come as the situation on the ground stabilises. “Expansion is a function of opportunities and we do see expansion possibilities in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, the UAE and Bahrain in that order. Given the ample opportunities in these markets, we are not looking to newer markets at this stage.” And after launching Hunkemoller — Europe’s leading brand — ladies lingerie store in Bahrain last year, followed by store openings in Oman and the UAE, there are also exciting new products coming in the near future. Says Faisal: “We are always looking for new opportunities. We recently signed up the franchise for Hotter Shoes from the United Kingdom and the distribution rights for SoftScience shoes from USA. “We always look to brands with a credible offering and try to bring in brands which can cater to regional needs. And our food and beverage brands such as Costa, Chilis, Dairy Queen, Burger King and Papa John’s Pizza and also fashion and home brands like BHS, Mango, Hush Puppies, Pumpkin Patch, Lakeland and The White Company amongst others continue to be extremely popular.” And having followed his own father and elder brother Ali into the family business, Faisal is pleased that young family members are keeping up the tradition. He says: “This is a natural process and we now have several young Jawad family members working in the Group in management roles. They bring today’s consumer insights into the business and also ensure that the business keeps pace with consumer expectations. They also help to define shareholder expectations from the business. www.bahrainthismonth.com