Max’s to bring Yellow Cab to China

Max’s GROUP Inc. (MGI), the country’s biggest casual dining operator, targets to capture a slice of China’s $2 billion pizza market with the opening of the first Yellow Cab Pizza branch in Asia’s biggest food market this year.

The company is planning to put up at least 15 Yellow Cab branches over the next five years through its franchise partnership with Chinese firm JuYangYiTong of the Zhongfa Group. This partnership, which marked Max’s Group’s maiden venture in China, was the first agreement to be signed this year after the company sealed five similar international deals last year.

“We are thrilled with the opportunity of bringing our pizza to Beijing, Tianjin and parts of Hebei province. We share the excitement with our partner, the ZhongFa Group, to serve our food offerings to the Chinese,” said Max’s Group president and CEO Robert F. Trota. “This is reflective of the strong interest in our brands. Last year, we were able to surpass targets in terms of signing up new markets abroad.”

“We believe the food and beverage industry in China has huge potential. With our newly established company JuYangYiTong led by one of the ZhongFa family members Mike Zhang, we plan to satisfy Chinese customers’ growing needs of high-quality food and beverage products. We are delighted to choose Yellow Cab Pizza as our first venture with MGI Group. Yellow Cab Pizza has everything that China’s discerning customers are looking for—quality, service and ambiance,” added ZhongFa Group CEO Guiping Wang.

ZhongFa is a diversified group based in China engaged in the businesses of commercial real estate, electronic business and hotel management. ZhongFa is planning to expand into the food and beverage business in China through its latest subsidiary JuYangYiTong.

In a briefing following a signing ceremony yesterday, officials disclosed that the first Yellow Cab branch in China would be put up in Beijing and was targeted to open by June this year. Trota expressed confidence that their partner would be able to put up the 15 Yellow Cab branches in less than five years as the company banks on the strong consumer market in China despite a slowdown in its economy.

“There’s still a big market in China and our entry will provide more choices to the millennial market. We believe there’s still a great opportunity for us,” Trota said, adding that eventually, the company’s goal was to bring to China its four other brands namely Max’s, Pancake House, Teriyaki Boy, and Sizzling Steak.