The FINANCIAL — Of the two biggest projects implemented by Wissol Group in 2013, the introduction of American brand Wendy’s to the Georgian market was the most significant, Soso Pkhakadze, President of the Wissol Group, told The FINANCIAL.
The FINANCIAL — Of the two biggest projects implemented by Wissol Group in 2013, the introduction of American brand Wendy’s to the Georgian market was the most significant, Soso Pkhakadze, President of the Wissol Group, told The FINANCIAL. “Since Wendy’s opened in Tbilisi, the sales statistics of Smart Supermarket have increased by 16 percent, so our consumer brands are helping each other and we enjoy a significant synergy between them,” Pkhakadze said.
Wendy’s restaurant appeared on Tbilisi’s Rustaveli Avenue in September 2013. Wissol Group plans to develop 25 restaurants in Georgia and the Republic of Azerbaijan over the next 10 years. The Wendy’s system includes more than 6,500 franchise and company restaurants in the U.S. and 27 countries and U.S. territories worldwide.
The second most important project implemented by the Wissol Group is the expansion of its advertising business. Vellagio, one of the leading companies on the Georgian advertising market, has bought its competitor, another large advertising company Alma Plus. “Wissol Group always wanted to expand its advertising business. Vellagio was a successful business for us – the company billboard network covers all the major cities of Georgia; it was one of the first to introduce new technologies in indoor advertising – “scrolling” and 3vision systems. Vellagio holds exclusive rights for indoor and outdoor advertising at Tbilisi and Batumi International Airports. But purchasing our competitor company Alma Plus which holds the DGM printing plant, one of the biggest in Georgia, was very good acquisition for us. Now we have got a quite large advertising and printing organization,” Pkhakadze said.
“Wissol Group kept taking bold steps forward and one of the examples of this is the arrival of Wendy’s. Meanwhile, we expected that Wendy’s would be a successful business in Georgia. Before bringing Wendy’s here, we examined the Georgian market and saw that there was a big niche in the market for the restaurant. This fact encouraged us to bring Wendy’s to the Georgian market. This is an American project implemented in Georgia which has brought American quality, and completely new, products to the market. Wendy’s slogan is ‘Quality is Our Recipe’. Wissol Group’s slogan is `Quality I Trust`,” Pkhakadze said.
In total 115 people are currently employed at Wendy’s. Wissol Group intends to employ over 2,000 people at Wendy’s Georgia within next 4-5 years.
“The Baconator, Wendy’s burger, salads and Frosty ice-cream are the products that Georgian customers like the most. I would say that the best coffee and coffee products available in Georgia are served at Wendy’s,” Pkhakadze said.
American consultants are advising us on how to improve the Smart Supermarket business in Georgia and how to develop it further. Today Smart has just 12 markets in Georgia but by the end of 2014 it will be a significantly large company, according to Pkhakadze.
“At first we had a little knowledge of the management of food chain infrastructure. But the consultants from America gave us the direction and knowledge necessary to develop this business. Today we are still a small company, but we are getting stronger. Some people would tell me that the Smart supermarket on Rustaveli Avenue was not a good investment. But today, with the strong sales and financial results we have achieved, we have proved that it was the right investment. Smart was the first to have appeared on that part of Rustaveli Avenue, but now there are the ongoing building works of two hotels – one above the Smart Supermarket and the other next to it. And as I know there will be a cable car as well to carry people from Rustaveli Avenue to Mtatsminda. So the future is promising. What I have to say is this: the main thing in business is the long-term vision and whole perspective. In a few years we will see how profitable the Smart supermarket business will be for our group,” Pkhakadze said.
On the subject of the prospects of the supermarket sector in Georgia, Pkhakadze said that it is a larger sector than the oil sector, making up 37 percent of the GDP, which is USD 5 billion. “The problem nowadays is that the segment of organized markets makes up just 15 percent of the whole market. The rest is made up by the non-organized stores which we see on every street corner in Georgia. Sooner or later the organized markets’ share will increase significantly, so market will move to a modern form,” he said.
Wissol Group has also introduced the most modern technology for fuel quality and supply control at its petrol stations, which is an innovation on the Georgian market, claims Pkhakadze. “Wissol Petroleum Georgia is the first company to have its petrol stations equipped with an automated system for fuel supply and quality control integrated into the fuel tanks and fuel pump which guarantees 100% accuracy in fuel delivery and makes service at the gas stations even more faster. We have invested USD 1.7 million in this project. Nowadays 48 petrol stations already have the automated fuel supply system. Within the next 6 months, Wissol Petroleum Georgia will equip every petrol station with this system,” he said.
Over the next few years Wissol Petroleum Georgia intends to develop CNG service stations in Georgia. This direction will be a priority for the company, Pkhakadze said.
“Economic activities are sometimes high, but can also sometimes be low. We cannot follow their rhythm. We should just continue going forwards and implement all projects as planned. The idea is to be oriented on long-term benefit rather than on immediate results. In general, our decisions are designed with a 10-15 year perspective in mind. If you want your business to develop further and be a big and sustainable company, you should always set long term objectives,” Pkhakadze said.
The President of Wissol Group believes that the economic situation will improve next year. “Georgia has all the conditions for this: the elections are already over, political unrest has ended, several funds have been created to support the country’s development – with all these factors it is easy to forecast that the economic situation will improve,” he said.
Today Wissol Group is one of the largest business groups in Georgia incorporating: Wissol Petroleum, Wissol Gas, Air Wissol, Wissol Gas Distribution Company, construction and real estate company Vellagio, advertising company Alma, Vianor Georgia, the Smart Supermarket chain, Wendy’s, Football Club Torpedo Kutaisi and Fitness Center Laguna Kutaisi.
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