Restaurateurs try Dubai

The UAE market began to attract not only Russian developers and retailers, but also restaurateurs. Tigrus Holding intends to open three Osteria Mario and Shvili establishments in Dubai next spring, and 27 more within five years. But competition in this emirate is high, and the provision of restaurants is twice as high as in Moscow, experts warn. At the same time, rental rates are high in Dubai.

The restaurant holding Tigrus plans to open establishments in the UAE, a Kommersant source in the restaurant market told Kommersant and confirmed co-owner of the group Henrik Winter. According to him, Osteria Mario and Shvili restaurants are scheduled to open in March 2023 with a total area of ​​630 sq. m in the Dubai Hills Mall shopping center and another Osteria Mario establishment on 490 sq. m in Dubai Marina. The first two establishments will be developed with a partner as corporate restaurants of the group, and the third one will be franchising. The expected payback period for projects is 30-36 months, the volume of investments is not disclosed.

According to Mr. Winter, for the past year and a half, the company has been considering the possibility of entering foreign markets, at the beginning of 2022 it launched a project in Dushanbe, after which it decided to expand to Dubai. In the next five years, the holding intends to open 27 more establishments in the UAE, including franchise restaurants.

The cost of opening two corporate restaurants will amount to at least $1 million, Mikhail Burmistrov, CEO of Infoline-Analytics, calculated. Given the difficulties with transactions with many states, the UAE is one of the few countries where Russian business can now operate, says Marina Shalaeva, managing partner of Parus Real Estate.

But it can be difficult for Russian restaurateurs to work in the UAE market, where business is highly dependent on seasonality, said Igor Bukharov, president of the Federation of Restaurateurs and Hoteliers of Russia. According to Yevgeny Nichipiruk, the founder of the Rakovaya gastrobar chain, there is a risk in the UAE that is not in Russia: “If the concept and design of the restaurant have already been agreed upon, but the format has not found its audience, then it is problematic to repurpose the establishment and you can lose the right to continue renting the premises.” Also, he continues, the owners of the premises arrange competitions among tenants for the best concept, which increases dependence on the owner of the premises.

Now the market is on the side of the landlord, there have been cases when, after negotiations, the requested rent increased, confirms Marina Shalaeva. Any local brand or player will be able to get more loyal conditions, adds Alexander Pestryakov, director of development of foreign projects at Becar Asset Management.

The catering market in Dubai is more saturated than in Moscow. In October 2022, there were more than 7.5 thousand establishments in the emirate, Tranio analysts calculated. According to their data, on average, there are 226 catering facilities per 100 thousand inhabitants, which is two times higher than in Moscow, and one and a half times than in St. Petersburg. According to this indicator, Dubai is catching up with London (232 per 100 thousand inhabitants), Rome (248), Barcelona (252) and Paris (274). The competition will be tough and it will not be easy to make a profit, Mr. Pestryakov believes.

Despite this, Russian restaurateurs this year began an active expansion to Dubai. For example, Boris Zarkov, the founder of the White Rabbit Family, is launching four projects there, Aleksey Vasilchuk, co-founder of Restart Vasilchuk Brothers, has already opened one restaurant there, and the Dodo Pizza chain is also planning to expand into this country. Alexander Orlov, the founder of the Bulldozer Group, has also been working there for several years.

Not only Russian restaurateurs are interested in the UAE market. This year, Codevelopment announced plans to open a co-working space in the Burj Daman business center in Dubai, the Pioneer developer acquired a site for the construction of 100 thousand square meters. m of housing, and the Fix Price retailer is looking for staff to open chain stores in the UAE.

Daria Andrianova