Moscow Casual Dining very Popular

 
With an increase in the number of outlets of 10.5% for all commercial foodservice operations in Moscow, and of 25.3% in the chain restaurants segment, the period November 2003-November 2004 was actually rather moderate compared with the previous year's values of 17% and 39.2% respectively. Despite this: the fact that double digit figures are still emerging demonstrates that the Russian metropolis is still growing in gastronomic terms, and just how strong this growth is. Taking all restaurant types together, the quickservice segment has increased the most by number of restaurants, and coffee houses amongst chain operations. Numerically in front and also with fantastic prospects: casual dining. Experts are predicting that this sector will really take off in the near future. And not only because of the 'democratic' price levels. Results of a survey by Ipsos.
 
From November 2003 to November 2004 the commercial foodservice market in Moscow as a whole grew by 10.5% per number of restaurants from 2,943 to 3,252 foodservice operations. With a population of more than 14 m this makes 1 foodservice unit per approx. 4,305 inhabitants.
 
For comparison: in gastronomically very 'dense' Zurich, the ratio is 1:182.5. From December 2002 to November 2003, there was a 17% increase in the number of restaurants in Moscow - and that of chain restaurants reached the stately proportion of 39.2%. Quantitative growth dropped to a plus of 25.3% from November 2003 to November 2004, and was therefore a little more moderate. The number of chain restaurants rose from 787 to 986 outlets. This is the result of a survey conducted by the marketing company Ipsos* on behalf of the b2b magazine MD Restaurant. It is worth mentioning that the business of the market leader in Moscow, the Rostik Group, during the same period was growing nearly five times faster than that of the industry as a whole: the company opened 36 new restaurants, 25 of them between May and November 2004.
 
It is important to note that this study is restricted to Moscow. This is principally because the capital city is the place where new concepts and formats are developed. The Russian foodservice market actually means the Moscow market. Concepts are sometimes transferred from the capital to other regions of the country. And if in November 2004, chef Alain Ducasse compared Moscow with London and New York in terms of the number of fine-dining restaurants, things are quite different in towns with a population of less than half a million people. The majority of restaurants in such towns still offer only Nescafé coffee. In most of the 13 Russian cities with a population of over one million people there are, however, outlets belonging to the largest restaurant companies, such as McDonald's and the Rostik Group. Second echelon operators like Coffee House, Kroshka Kartoshka and the Lunch Company have only set up their own locations in St. Petersburg. In other cities, they prefer to work with franchisees. There are, a few chain operators - primarily of QSR brands - in Russia willing to develop their business in those regions. But Moscow undoubtedly is the place to be. All chain operators are desperately trying to establish new locations there, where per capita income is higher than anywhere else in the country. Although rents are high and the competition is stiff, the centre of Moscow remains the most attractive place for any restaurant. Gradually, however, more and more attention is being paid to the periphery of the capital, the so-called 'dormer districts'. This means residential areas with moderate industrial infrastructures. The best sites here are those close to or inside shopping centres, office buildings and educational premises. And casual concepts where the emphasis is on evening or family business can also increasingly be found.
 
According to Ipsos, just less than 30% of Moscow's total commercial foodservice operations belong to restaurant chains. 'Chains' in Ipsos terminology refer to two or more restaurants owned by the same owner and/or operating under one brand name. At the end of November 2004, the Top 10 chain operators had 457 outlets accounting for 46.3% of all multiple operations. Or, in other words, more than half of the chain restaurant market is in the hands of operators with fewer than 15 outlets. In terms of number of restaurants, the Rostik Group is the leading chain operator in the Moscow restaurant market. In November 2004, the company, headed by Venezuelan Rostislav Ordovsky-Tanaevsky Blanco, had ten brands with a total of 111 outlets in the capital and the Moscow region. Its share in the chain restaurant segment is 11.3%. In a second place is McDonald's, with 87 restaurants in Moscow and the city region.
 
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| 16 January 2005 |