Max’s future-proofs with vital Cavite manufacturing hub

The country’s leading casual dining chain Max’s Group Inc. (MGI) is investing P1 billion to complete by 2020 a new food manufacturing and distribution hub in Carmona, Cavite, that will support its growing store network.

“It’s really future-proofing MGI towards support of our expanding stores plus also getting into more efficiencies because that plant can be designed to handle (production) lines, whereas at present, we don’t have that capacity yet. So, it allows us support for store expansion post-2020,” MGI chief operating officer Ariel Fermin said in a press briefing after the company’s stockholders meeting on Thursday.

“If we [don’t] have that, it will be really hard for us to expand,” he said.

The construction of the No Bia production hub in Cavite started last year.

MGI—the food retailing company behind Max’s Restaurant, Yellow Cab Pizza Co., Pancake House, Krispy Kreme, Jamba Juice, Dencio’s, Teriyaki Boy and Sizzlin’ Steak—had planned to breach the 1,000-store network by 2020. Of these, 200 will be located overseas.

But while scaling up is part of the strategy, MGI president Robert Trota said it was more important for the group to ensure the quality and profitability of each store.

“As we pivoted to franchising, we’re getting and keeping the quality of stores that we want and better return on investment. It shows that this is the right move,” he said.

By 2021, MGI aims to increase the share of its franchised network to 70 percent from 60 percent at present.

Trota said MGI was planning to add 80 new restaurants to its network this year. In 2018, the group rolled out 66 new stores, including 11 international branches, bringing its total footprint to 705 outlets, including 59 stores overseas.

Diversifying its geographic footprint to Visayas and Mindanao is likewise part of MGI’s strategy. At present, only 11 percent of its store network is outside Luzon.