PETALING JAYA (Jan 16): Pizza Hut Malaysia will be opening its 400th store in Peninsula Malaysia within the first quarter this year, through planned expansion of 15 new stores in 2019.
QSR Brands (M) Holdings Bhd chief executive officer (Restaurants Division), Merrill Pereyra said Pizza Hut is poised to achieve a stronger year, as it strengthen its presence in the country from 393 stores at present.
“The fund for the expansion plan will partly come from the initial public offering (IPO) raised for the upcoming listing of QSR Brand in the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia, expected in the next quarter this year.
“Besides that, we will also be focusing on reimaging our look, enhance digital platforms and product innovations,” he told reporters during luncheon with the media, today.
QSR Brands is the operator of Pizza Hut and KFC restaurants in Malaysia.
The company plans to issue up to 1.465 billion shares from its IPO, according to its draft prospectus.
Pereyra explained that cost to open one store is between RM600,000 to RM1.2 million, depending on the value of the property and agreement.
On managing challenges such as the increase in operating cost and Sales and Services Tax (SST), the company he said, will make sure it puts the right people and lay out the right strategy to enable the best offering and value to its customers.
“Some of our products are imported, hence we face foreign exchange fluctuation. Right now, one of the way to curb price increases in our products is by securing long term contracts with suppliers,” Pereyra said. — Bernama
