Foodmark announces expansion plans

Foodmark, the food and beverage arm of leisure and retail giant Landmark Group, has announced plans to have 100 restaurants under its portfolio by 2015, with five outlets to open by the end of the year.

Naveed Dowlatshahi, general manager of Foodmark, commented: “Foodmark’s success in the UAE and GCC has been consistently growing year-on-year, and we continue the search for not only perfect venues and ideal locations but the ideal people to run those outlets.

“We are delighted to be launching the second and third Chi’Zen restaurants in Mall of Emirates and Kuwait, where our other outlets Mango Tree, Zafran and Carluccio’s have already been extremely well received. It is an exciting time for us, and we look forward to developing the Foodmark brand significantly in the coming years,” he added.

The company, which currently has 26 restaurants in its portfolio, will invest in excess of AED 250 million (US $68 million) to reach its target of 100 restaurants by 2015, in addition to the previously invested sum of AED 100 million ($27 million) which brought the company to 25 outlets.

Within the last two years, the company has seen 21% LFL growth in 2010-2100 compared to 2009-2010, and a massive overall growth of 67%.