He is the man behind the success of the Pizza Inn chain in the Kingdom. Mr. Khushru Mistry was born and brought up in Bombay. He did his hotel management course from Dadar Catering College, Bombay, an Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology in 1986 before he completed his MBA. Later, Mistry did his post graduation in hotel management from Samuston University Houston, Texas (US).

He ran an Indian specialty food chain for three years during his stay in Houston.

Mistry came to Saudi Arabia in 1991, when he found himself associated with the United Food Company, a member of the Abunayyan group. He took over as General Manager of the company in 1993. United Food Company ranks as the biggest franchisee of Pizza Inn outside the United States. Under his management, Pizza Inn expanded its network from two to 48 restaurants in the Kingdom and Qatar. His commitment and aggressive marketing elevated the Pizza Inn chain to number two position, next only to the world leader Pizza Hut.

Following are the excerpts from an exclusive interview with Yahind.com.

YaHind: Tell us about Pizza Inn and your association with it ?

Mistry: Pizza Inn is an American franchise, specifically a Dallas-based company. We, at the UFC, are the master franchisee in this region. From 1991 to 1993 we were the only people globally in contract with an organization called AAFES (Army and Air Force Exchange Services). We were the only people licensed to cater on American Camps. We were catering to them till they were in Saudi Arabia. In the meantime, we opened our first dining restaurant in October 1991, the flagship one, on King Abdullah Road, previously known as Prince Abdullah Road. In December 1991 we opened the second flagship restaurant on Takhassussi Street. In 1993, I took over this company as its General Manager. Since then, we have grown from two restaurants to a chain of 48 units in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

YaHind: What is criterion for obtaining the franchise ?

Mistry: If anybody is interested in franchise, we can help and assist them. You have to understand one thing: the Mother Company is Pizza Inn. Technically, we are the only biggest franchisee outside the United States. We are trying to get into an agreement with the corporate company. Since it is based in the US, there are some infrastructure and logistic issues. So time to come from now onwards we might act as a corporate company trying to liaise with other companies in Romania, Asia and the Middle East or even in Europe. It becomes financially and logistically feasible. So our role will come in even in territories where we don’t have our presence or we have no rights. We will work as liaison trying to facilitate things, train people, consult people etc.,

YaHind: Do you have your presence in India ?

Mistry: No, we don’t have our presence in India, but Indian market is still open for discussion. In fact, we are looking for professional companies who would be interested. Demographically and geographically India is so large that we cannot talk to one company. In my opinion even cities will have to be further broken down. If NRIs are interested we can help them.

YaHind: Being an Indian what is your contribution to the community?

Mistry: We are very strong with the Indian community. Whenever we get a chance we support the community. We have sponsored a lot of events and bazaars in the Indian Embassy schools. Whenever we get a chance we help the main Indian Embassy school, or programs coming through the embassy. Our main aim is to help the kids. There was an organization called Seva. Through them we have sponsored spastic kids. We have our basketball team and we are ready to sponsor Indian cricketers in Riyadh cricket leagues.

YaHind: What is your advice to Indian investors, who want to invest in Saudi Arabia ?

Mistry: It is one of the best booming markets from some time to come. If you look at the next decade, I cannot see any better market in the world than Saudi Arabia. This country is going in for economic and political reforms, while other major changes are in the offing. It has the best investment environment. If you look at the real estate in the last six months, it has grown 150%. I was reading an article in the December issue of the Economic Review The GDP is great, the per capita income is growing, while the unemployment rate is going down.

YaHind: What are the best areas for Indians to invest ?

Mistry: IT is number one, then there are oil and gas, food industries. People think that this market is saturated but if you look at the economic growth and the growth of population, it is among the fastest in the world. All the indicators here are very positive. Unfortunately, during the last six to eight months, the downtrend in the stock market did hurt the retail market a bit. Even though the economy is booming, the stock exchange does not necessarily reflect the strength of the economy.

YaHind: What changes you have witnessed during your stay in the Kingdom ?

Mistry: Drastic changes. I have seen economic changes in leaps and bounds. The economic landscape has changed, social reforms have been far-reaching, while the standard of living has improved steadily. All these changes started happening after 1997.

YaHind: What is the secret of your success ?

Mistry: A strong sense of commitment, hard work, integrity and to sharpen your focus to get things right.

YaHind: What is your message to the community ?

Mistry: Work hard, make your country and country men proud.

YaHind: How do you describe success ?

Mistry: In our business you look at, of course, the bottom line, the brand perception which is very important. In our business the things are calculated when company is bought and sold. Other than the assets and liabilities is the brand capital. We work very hard in doing that. Pizza Hut is the biggest globally. We started competing with them. Today, if not the same number of restaurants, we have at least 65-70 % of the total number of restaurants. If they dominate the pizza market we are there right behind them. To compete with them is a big deal. This comes only when you do everything right, be it the quality of the product, service, value for money, or brand perception.

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