French restaurant chain Brioche Doree speeds up expansion in Romania with EUR 3 mln yearly investments

French-style fast food restaurant chain Brioche Doree will accelerate its expansion in Romania by opening about 15 new restaurants and 15 mobile units in the next three years. The planned investments amount to EUR 3 million per year, Stephane Lahaye, the CEO of Brioche Doree Romania told Romania-Insider.com. The company also plans to bring new brands to the market. Lahaye thinks this is a favorable moment for expansion as the local economy is growing and the market segment in which Brioche Doree is active has been going through changes after some local players have gone out of business. “We want to take advantage of the fact that we are better-known in Romania. We see a 20-25% yearly growth in sales and the demand for our products is higher,” Lahaye explained. Brioche Doree currently has 5 restaurants and a food truck in Bucharest. All its restaurants are located in shopping malls. The restaurant chain plans to open other units in malls as well as office areas. The first Brioche Doree in an office building will open in the following months in Pipera. “We will also open a new unit in the new Parklake Plaza and we are negotiating with 3-4 other malls, such as Veranda, Unirea Shopping Center and Vitan,” said Lahaye. The network should thus have 5 more restaurants in Bucharest within a year. The investment in a full-size Brioche Doree restaurant is about EUR 500,000. Brioche Doree also plans to set up smaller mobile units in various high-traffic spots in Bucharest, such as the train station and bigger shopping areas. Starting next year, the company also plans to expand outside Bucharest and open its first units in Constanta, Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara, and Iasi. The expansion should also reflect in the company’s sales growth. In 2015, Brioche Doree Romania had sales of some EUR 1.5 million and this year it estimates a turnover of EUR 2-2.5 million. The Brioche Doree Romania business is controlled by French Eiffel Group, which also owns Lea Finance, a local operational leasing company. Stephane Lahaye, who is also non-executive president of Lea Finance has been coordinating the French group’s business in Romania for the last 12 years. Eiffel Group has a partnership with French Groupe Le Duff, the owner of the Brioche Doree franchise. The group plans to bring some other brands from Le Duff’s portfolio to Romania, such as the Kamps German bakery concept, and the Bruegger’s bagel and muffin shops. The first restaurants under these brands may open in 2018, Lahaye told Romania-Insider.com. Andrei Chirileasa, andrei@romania-insider.com