 "IHCL takes Qmin to QSR space, aims to make it a Rs 200-crore brand")
Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) -- the parent firm of Taj Hotels -- has outlined plans to turn its culinary offering Qmin into a Rs 200 crore brand by financial year 2026 (FY26), the Tata Group firm said this after its third quarter results on Friday.
The brand, which opened as an app-based delivery kitchen during the Covid-19 pandemic, has evolved into an all-day diner at all Ginger properties. In the latest December quarter, the brand has evolved further with over 60 outlets.
“After food trucks, Qmin has moved further into the quick service restaurant (QSR) space, with two Qmin stores opening at the Chennai and Kolkata airports (in partnership with travel food services), and at two Westside stores -- in Mumbai and Bengaluru -- through a shop-in-shop format,” Puneet Chhatwal, managing director and chief executive officer, IHCL, told Business Standard, post announcing the company’s December quarter results.
Talking further about Qmin, he said, “It is an exciting brand, which has quickly built strong brand equity and is expressing itself in multiple formats now. We would like to be present at every airport with multiple stores at each, and work further with Trent (which operates brands like Westside and Zudio).”
Qmin had recorded a revenue of Rs 100 crore in FY24.
“Qmin is currently at Rs 111 crore and we are well poised to clock a revenue of Rs 150 crore in FY25 for the brand. We want to make it a Rs 200 crore brand by FY26,” Chhatwal added.
The hotels behemoth recorded a 29 per cent rise in revenue to Rs 2,533.04 crore in Q3 from Rs 1,963.84 in the year ago period, while its profit after tax grew 29 per cent to Rs 582.32 crore from Rs 451.95 crore in the year ago period.
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The company stated that the consolidation of its air and institutional catering business aided this growth in revenue.
“The revenue performance was driven by 40 per cent increase in New Businesses, not like-for-like growth and double-digit growth in same store hotels,” stated a release.
During the quarter, the company signed 20 new properties, including three Taj hotels.
Talking about the ongoing fourth quarter, he said, the sector will continue to witness demand buoyancy.
“This will be on account of large-scale events, weddings, and sustained transient travel,” he said. Factors like persisting demand-supply gap and the peak travel season for spiritual destinations like Prayagraj, Varanasi, Tirupati will also aid this growth.
Internationally, the company recorded a RevPAR (revenue per available room) growth of 9 per cent, driven primarily by a 25 per cent increase at The Pierre, New York.