The month of March in India has always been associated with the financial year ending procedures, filing of taxes and closing of company account books. But it also means that a new accounting year is starting and for some companies, new horizons and forward-looking plans.
Bengaluru-based Barbeque Nation Hospitality has filed IPO papers with Sebi for the second time, backed by private equity investor CX Partners and investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala’s investment firm Alchemy Capital. The company recently acquired a 61.35 percent stake in Red Apple Kitchen which owns Toscano, a casual dining Italian restaurant chain that currently has 10 outlets operating across Bengaluru and Chennai.
In our country, there is no dearth of skilled labour and especially if the fairer sex is included in the workforce
Hospitality chain Hyatt which recently opened the Hyatt Regency Thrissur in Kerala is on expansion mode in India and is reportedly commissioning at least 10 more properties during 2020, mostly new locations in tier II and tier III cities. The Odisha government’s approval of hotel projects in the state is further proof of why these cities are where the growth is going to come from. Even Angad Singh Gandhi, brand ambassador, Glenfiddich India, agrees, “We went to 30 tier-II cities in India to promote Glenfiddich because that is where major growth in numbers is coming for us.”
At our recently held Atithi Devo Bhava in Ahmedabad, general managers of leading hotels in India’s first World Heritage City, agreed that the last ten years have been phenomenal for the hotel industry in Ahmedabad and opined that the government is trade-friendly and provides the great infrastructure needed for the industry at large. This is in direct contrast to the reactions from the UK, where the industry feels that EU’s new immigration policy is disastrous for the hospitality industry as it is too dependent on EU for skilled labour.
In our country there is no dearth of skilled labour and especially if the fairer sex is included in the workforce. In a tribute to the women in the industry, we feature two women who have made their mark as leaders in their field and as Kerrie Hannaford, VP – commercial, Accor India & South Asia says, “most people have enormous talent; they just don’t know how to harvest and harness it.”
Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Union Minister Food Processing Industries, Government of India, would have been an excellent addition to our section on Women in Hospitality but she was out of the country representing India at a global trade event. May this tribe increase!
STEENA JOY
Editor, Express Food & Hospitality
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