Di Bella bets high on India; to invest 10 million on the expansion drive

An Australian coffee chain, Di Bella, which already has 11 outlets in Mumbai, is planning to beef up its presence in the country. The brand will be investing around US $10 million to further penetrate the Indian market by marking its presence in other major cities such as Delhi and Bengaluru by next year.

Rahul Leekha, director of Electel that holds Di Bella Coffee licence for India, Middle East, Africa, European Union and the UK, said the company is working on a 3,000 sq ft flagship store at Linking Road, Mumbai and will target opening around 20 stores in the city by next year besides entering Delhi and Bangalore in 2017.

Leekha and Ashish Akleker founded Electel in 2014 for holding Di Bella coffee licence. The company will also look at the Middle Eastern market subsequently through a joint venture partnership there, Leekha said.

Company stated that it requires approximately 1.5 crore to set up an outlet, the cost include the rent and fitments etc. Di Bella's business model revolves around running a profitable operation. It targets achieving operational level break even from month one of operations. Most of its rental agreements are on a revenue-share basis. Officials said it is close to a 20-25 per cent EBITA positive mark. Di Bella does not consider itself a competitor to top coffee chain Cafe Coffee Day that targets 16-20 year old customers.