Comeback Kid? ; Jack of All Foods, Nirula's, has Been Confounded - If Not Confused - by the Onslaught of the Kings of Niche Foods. But Its Perceived Weakness Could Become Its Key Appeal and Strength, Says Shalini S. Dagar.

Business Today › August 06, 2009

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Summary

If you turn the corner at L-block in central Delhi's Rajiv Chowk, you will run into a Haldiram's food outlet, which for many Delhiites, is a jarring realisation of the changing times. This, after all, was the flagship location of the legendary eating establishment, Nirula's, which Delhi residents regularly flocked to for mouth-watering savouries or ice-cream. Its other immensely popular location, near the Chanakya Cinema hall, also no longer exists. "That is part of life, says Samir Kuckreja, Managing Director of Nirula's Corner House. "Those were leased properties and we lost the leases. But we have three new homes in CP alone.

That may be so, but it could also be a metaphor for what has happened to Nirula's. In the past 15 years or so, Indian consumers have gotten increasingly younger and armed with more disposable income than ever. They've become hungrier for food outside home, frequenting fastfood chains such as McDonald's, Domino's, Pizza Hut, KFC and others even fuelling the rise of formidable domestic players, such as Haldiram's and Bikanerwala's. Yet, Nirula's has atrophied, unable to exploit this valuable demographic, despite its storied brand name and once-loyal fan following, having ceded acres of ground to its more agile fast-food competitors.

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Extract

Comeback Kid? ; Jack of All Foods, Nirula's, has Been Confounded - If Not Confused - by the Onslaught of the Kings of Niche Foods. But Its Perceived Weakness Could Become Its Key Appeal and Strength, Says Shalini S. Dagar.

Still, it would be foolish to write off this fast-food chain. For one thing, it has relatively new owners Navis Capital found enough value in it to buy out the founding family for Rs 90 crore, three years ago, kick-starting a comprehensive makeover. Since then, Nirula's new management has put some "best practices in place: It hired Deloitte for a lean manufacturing project, implemented SAP a...

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