Over a decade ago, Nadim Xavier Salhani took a big risk to turn a few flagging brands around, a decision that continues to pay dividends today. Mr Salhani is the man behind the success of US franchises Au Bon Pain, Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin Robbins in Thailand. Now, he is developing the group’s own food brand, Greyhound Cafe, for markets abroad.
Born in Lebanon, the 57-year-old holds Thai citizenship and speaks the local language fluently. He began his current career working for Holiday Inn in Phuket in 1987.
At that time he felt compelled to leave the capital city after a relationship likewise went south.
“Phuket is the place where I learned to love the food, bakery and coffee business, estimated to be worth over 300 billion baht. I’ve stayed in this very vibrant industry ever since,” says Mr Salhani.
His vision is to expand the business aggressively in three directions. That plan includes growing the company’s Greyhound Cafe franchise in Thailand and Asia.
“When we find a suitable partner and grant a franchise, it avoids the costs and risks of setting up shop in a foreign market, while providing us with capabilities that we lack,” he says.
Moreover, the company is planning more acquisitions as it is faster than starting from scratch, and also increases efficiency by transferring capital, technology and management skills, says Mr Salhani.
Greyhound Co, a long-established fashion and restaurant business in Thailand, was the company’s first acquisition in 2014.
“Initially, we didn’t win the bid for Greyhound, but after a month, Bhanu Inkawat, the founder of Greyhound Fashion and Greyhound Cafe, decided to call us back, review our proposals and ultimately decide on the future of his baby. We were able to speak the same language and communicate on the same level. In the end, Khun Bhanu decided to partner with us,” he says.
The company operates 17 Greyhound Cafes in Thailand and 18 franchises overseas, including Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.
Recently, the company invested 150 million baht to open a 192-seat Greyhound Cafe on Berners street, Fitzrovia, the trendy lifestyle district near Soho in central London. The outlet was intended as a showcase store to build brand awareness and pursue franchise opportunities in major European cities.
Mudman recently acquired the wellknown 300-year-old “Grand Vefour”, a two-Michelin-star fine dining restaurant in Paris. Grand Vefour is widely regard as a historical treasure, having been the place were Napoleon Bonapart proposed to Josephine de Beauharnais. Le Grand Vefour, along with its previous owner and current chef, Guy Martin, will help spearhead further expansion in Europe and beyond.
“We are planning to develop more projects in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Bangkok in the French brasserie restaurant style, at a cost of 40-60 million baht each,” he says. “For Greyhound cafe, we’ve made great improvements to the fashion business and hopefully will break even by the end of 2018.”
The company will explore more creative and design opportunities by collaborating with other successful brands. Greyhound Fashion recently designed the Honda Motorcycle Cub house on Thong Lor and seeks to develop a unique collection of cloths and accessories, targeting younger people. There are 40 Honda dealers across the country, potentially opening up opportunities for Greyhound’s fashion business.
Because of Mr Salhani’s grasp of Thai culture and language, the operator and franchise owner of Dunkin’ Donuts and Au Bon Pain approached him to join the company in 2003 and help revive the sluggish business. But he initially refused.
“I told them, I’m not the person you need! I have no experience in turning a business around, I’m more like a brand builder so I didn’t think I could help them. They were very persistent and persuasive, not stopping until I agreed to take on the challenge. My family and friends thought I was crazy as I was about to leave Starbucks, a solid international firm, for a company that was in a financial crisis,” he says.
During the first leg of his career in retail at Central Pattana, which was awarded the Starbucks Coffee franchise in 1997, Mr Salhani learnt all aspects of how to operate a retail business successfully.
“I had the opportunity to meet with Howard Schultz (founder and executive chairman of Starbucks) at their head office in the US. I went through three months of intensive training in Seattle. It was a ‘Sleepless in Seattle’ moment,” he says.
After six years at Starbucks, Mr Salhani developed a firm grasp of the retail industry, but he also no longer felt challenged at the company. There were too many corporate rules to follow, he says, which went against his nature as an entrepreneur.
That led him to take the plunge and join Royal Food Group, the authorised operator of Dunkin’ Donuts and Au Bon Pain.
“I remember I went to church asking God to help me and be my partner in taking on this incredible challenge,’’ he says.
Along with his efficient team of female executives, Mr Salhani began by dismantling business units that were running at a loss and consolidating a support centre for better controls. It took 18 months to start generating a positive cash flow.
Due to the high level of debt, the company’s owners decided to seek financial assistance from interested investors. At that point Navis Capital stepped in and helped salvage the business before exiting in 2012.
“I learned a great deal under Navis’ ownership, particularly on financial matters, cash flow and returns, which are so important to the success of any business” he says.
Later, Sub Sri Thai Plc stepped in to become the new group owner, setting up the Mudman subsidiary, which handles food retail business as well as the distribution of clothing and leather works.
Mudman’s revenue in 2017 grew by 5-7%, slightly below target as Dunkin’ Donuts performed worse than expected, in part due to the effects from high household dept and an overall slowdown in consumer spending.
“The competition is very fierce — I love it. The more difficult and challenging the job is, the better I work. My creativity explode during times of chaos,” says Mr Salhani.
He plans to open 12 Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee concept branches this year, including the first Dunkin’ Donuts drive through at Porto Go, in Bang pa-in district, Ayutthaya, this June. There are also plans to open five Au bon Pain and five Baskin Robbins outlets this year, bringing the total number of Dunkin Donuts, Au Bon Pain and Baskin Robbins branches to 300, 80 and 40, respectively.
And with so many years of experience in the hotel business in Thailand and abroad, including Rarotonga, the Cook Islands and Dusit Rayavadee Resort in Krabi, he is also looking to enter the boutique hospitality industry.