Goenka Group keen to expand cafe chain Au Bon Pain.

The RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group will invest Rs. 20-30 crore for expansion of its café chain Au Bon Pain over the next 12 to 18 months.

Twenty-one new outlets are expected to be added this fiscal to take the total count to 50 by March. According to Avarna Jain, Founder and In-charge, Au Bon Pain, these new outlets will be added across Kolkata - around 10; Delhi - seven or eight; and, the remaining in Bangalore.

'Our immediate focus is to expand in these three cities and reach profitability first. This will be followed by expansion in other cities. We hope to reach profitability in 12 to 18 months,' Jain said.

Avarna Jain is the daughter of Sanjiv Goenka, Chairman of RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group.

Currently, Au Bon Pain has 29 outlets of which 26 are in Bangalore, two in Kolkata and one in Delhi NCR.

Of these, a majority of the stores have achieved break-even. 'At the store level, we are breaking even,' she added. Au Bon Pain is a US-based cafe bakery chain, and the Goenka Group has 80 per cent stake in Au Bon Pain Cafe India, which runs the eponymous cafe chain.

The Goenkas own the chain through Spencer's Retail - a wholly-owned subsidiary of the group's flagship CESC Ltd.


HBL