SET-listed restaurant operator Wow Factor Plc has vowed to aggressively expand Domino's Pizza ahead of an anticipated recovery when Thailand starts to reopen next month.
Sirutt Ratanapaitoon, the company's director and chief financial officer, said the company, with sales still intact, is set to move more aggressively with many new products and services scheduled to be launched from now until the middle of next year.
The company plans to open 15 new branches in the remaining months of this year, up from a previously planned 10 new restaurants. Of those, two branches have opened recently.
"It still has a huge opportunity to expand Domino's Pizza in Thailand. We are confident that the total number of Domino's Pizza restaurants in Thailand can reach 100 branches over the next three years,'' Mr Sirutt said, adding that the company is also looking to expand Domino's Pizza into new business models, including franchises.
According to Mr Sirutt, Thailand's quick-service restaurants are likely to resume growth this year because food operators have learned to adjust since the first wave of the pandemic.
Many of them have moved towards delivery channels, he said.
Domino's Pizza deliveries accounted for up to 60% of the company's sales in the second quarter of this year, compared to 40% before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr Sirutt says the company plans to open 15 new Domino's Pizza branches in the remaining months of this year.
Wow Factor is also the operator of the Bake Cheese Tart and Le Boeuf French steak restaurants.
For the first six-month period ending June 20 this year, the company reported total revenue of 183.79 million baht, down 18% from 222.86 million baht in the same period of last year. It posted a net loss of 134.94 million baht for the period, down from 55.42 million baht of net losses a year earlier.
According to Mr Sirutt, in addition to Domino's Pizza the company is also poised to open two branches of Kagonoya, an authentic Osaka shabu-style restaurant, later this year, bringing the total number of Kagonoya branches to nine.
It also aims to raise the number of Kagonoya restaurants in Greater Bangkok to 20 over the next three years.
For Le Boeuf, the steak restaurant, the company has temporarily changed to buffet from à la carte. It currently has two Le Boeuf restaurants in Bangkok and will open the third branch at the Summer Set project, which is close to CentralPlaza Grand Rama 9, later this year.
Mr Sirutt said the company aims to have a total of eight Le Boeuf steak restaurants in Bangkok next year.
"We hope that Le Boeuf will get a Michelin Star one day," he said.
In addition to the restaurant business, the company is also developing ready-to-cook products under Le Boeuf and Kagonoya brands. Products will be made available to the market next year.
Mr Sirutt said that once the company has firmly established itself in the food business, it is interested in expanding into property and retail in the longer term.