Galadari ice cream company scoops 450th Baskin-Robbins store in the region

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There is no melting Baskin-Robbins in the Middle East as it marks today the opening of 450th store in the region at the Palm Jumeirah as executives announced continued expansion to reach close to 500 stores by end of the year.
 
The inauguration of the new store was led by Nigel Travis, CEO of Dunkin’ Brands, Inc.; Srinivas Kumar, Chief Brand Officer, Baskin-Robbins Worldwide, and, John Varghese, Managing Director for Europe, Middle East, and Southeast Asia.  Dunkin’ Brands Inc. is the parent company of Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins brands.  Joining them during the opening ceremony and at the following press conference were Khaled Soliman, Group COO of Galadari Brothers Group and Manoj Loya, General Manager of Galadari Ice Cream Company, the licensee for the brand in the GCC.

The presence of top management from Dunkin’ Brands, Inc. highlights the importance of Baskin-Robbins’ here in the GCC.

“As a franchisor, we stand on the shoulders of our franchise partners to build our brand.  We congratulate our partner, the Galadari Ice Cream Company, along with its management team on the 450th store opening in the Middle East.  This milestone is exciting for all of us and it would not have been possible without the hard work and support of this tremendous team.  We thank GICC for their dedication, passion and commitment, and most importantly, their partnership over the past 30 years,” said Nigel Travis, CEO of Dunkin’ Brands, Inc.

“Our commitment to public is to serve premium quality Baskin-Robbins ice cream no matter where they are in the GCC.  We are proud to reach a landmark 450 stores all over the Gulf and there are more coming up.  This is a great opportunity for us to thank our loyal customers who take on scoop by scoop of their favorite flavours at Baskin-Robbins,” said Khaled Soliman, Group COO of Galadari Group, parent company of Galadari Ice Cream Company.

At the press conference following the opening of the Palm Jumeirah parlour, GICC executives announced year-to-date sales have increased by over 20 per cent compared to 2008.  In June alone, six new stores have been opened by the company across the region.  GICC also plans to open 45 new stores in the region and is looking at entering new markets across Africa and Middle East

Manoj Loya, General manager of GICC said:  “We are on an aggressive stance to pursue our expansion plans in spite of the general economic slowdown.  We are confident of a sooner-than-expected turnaround in the region.  As such, GICC’s expansion includes diversifying across new store formats such as Café Baskin Robbins and BR Express with an aim to bring new and exciting ice cream and dessert based product experiences for our customers.”

Baskin-Robbins recently opened the world’s largest store in the region through the Café Baskin-Robbins in Jeddah, KSA covering a total store area of 5,000 sq. ft.  The Café is the equivalent of a fast-casual restaurant serving premium quality Baskin-Robbins ice cream, baked desserts, ice cream fondue and its signature delicacy Affogato – scoop of ice cream served with shot of freshly brewed espresso. The store also holds the special position of being the world’s largest Baskin Store.

In 2008, GICC registered a US$100 million revenue, up by 20 per cent over the previous year with a positive same store sales growth.  For the Baskin-Robbins brand, GICC operates through five different joint ventures in the Gulf consisting of the following number of stores per country:  KSA-223, UAE-108, Kuwait-47, Qatar-36, Bahrain-24, and, Oman-12.