Vapiano to open a chain of Italian restaurants in Ukraine

Photo: Ivan Chernichkin

The competition in the Italian cuisine segment is stiffening. V.Piano Ukraine is opening a chain of five-seven restaurants Vapiano, project manager Volodymyr Havryshevskiy told Capital. “We are planning to open one restaurant a year,” he explained, adding that the cities being considered for further growth are Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa.

Big investments

Vapiano is one of the largest restaurant chains of Italian cuisine in Europe. Its first restaurant was opened in 2002 in Hamburg, Germany. Now, there are over 150 places under this brand name working in over 20 countries.

In Ukraine, the chain is developing on franchise, the right to which was acquired by Andriy Zdesenko, the co-owner of the Biosphera Corporation (the largest manufacturer and distributor of home care and personal hygiene goods under the brands Freken BOK, Smile, Novita, Eventa, Vortex, etc.).

The first restaurant of the Vapiano chain in Ukraine was opened in downtown Kyiv in October and the second opened in November in Lviv. Havryshevskiy emphasizes that the square area of each establishment is approximately 550 sq m, while the average bill for clients is around UAH 150. He did not specify the volume of investments made in the opening of each restaurant or the deductions for the use of the brand. However, according to the information placed on the official website of Vapiano, investments into the first restaurant were EUR 1.5-2 mn. The fee for the brand use is around 5-7.5% of the profits depending on the location of the establishment and its volume of earnings. Besides that, franchise holders must pay around EUR 50,000 for each restaurant for guidance in choosing the premises, training of personnel, etc.

Saturated segment

Italian cuisine has been among the most popular in Ukraine and around the world for many years, says co-owner of the Fanera project Anton Beletskiy. “This is due to the relatively affordable prices of dishes and good quality,” adds co-owner of Vodka bar, Wine City Grill, Vodka City Grill Oleh Sheinker. That is why, according to the calculations of General Director of Restaurant Consulting Olha Nasonova, around 20% of the 1,500 establishments currently operating in the capital of Ukraine offer dishes of Italian cuisine. The large players in Kyiv include Mafia, Oliva, Ruccola, Prego Café, Celentano Pizza, Solo Pizza chains and others.

Crowded market

The segment of Italian cuisine is close to saturation, assures Nasonova. Moreover, as Capital wrote earlier, fashion for Italian cuisine is passe in Kyiv and today consumers are more interested in burgers at an average price of UAH 100. As a result, four chains appeared in the capital since the end of last year: The Burger, True Burger bar, Star Burger and Lucky Luchano.

At the moment, restaurant owners are not so much competing with other players, but rather trying to adapt to the new economic situation, notes Executive Director of the restaurant company FM Group Vyacheslav Sukhomlynov (Murakami, Tarantino, Italian & Grill, Ruccola, Olivier chains, Villa Riviera and Lucky Luchano restaurants). “Consumers are saving more and more money,” he says.

As Capital wrote earlier, in the first half of 2014 the restaurateurs lost around 30% of their visitors compared with the same period last year. The situation began to stabilize only this autumn. However, due to the new wave of sharp devaluation of that Ukrainian currency that has been observed since the middle of last week, consumers may again abandon the idea of visiting public catering establishments. If this happens, restaurateurs will be forced to shut down unprofitable places. Around 100 restaurants of the 1,600 that operated earlier in the nation’s capital since the start of the year were shut down, according to Restaurant Consulting.