JEDDAH — The senior management team of US-based DineEquity (parent company of Applebee's restaurant) recently visited Saudi Arabia and held several rounds of high level meetings with the senior executives of Tarfeeh, a SEDCO Holding Group Company and franchisee of Applebee's in Saudi Arabia. DineEquity management team which included Daniel Del Olmo (President), Edgar Tholen (Chief Development Officer) and Gary Moore (VP Operations, Middle East & Europe) also met senior executives of SEDCO Holding Group. "Middle East is a key region for our business and Saudi Arabia in particular presents immense potential for growth and development. This market is vibrant with lots of opportunities and Applebee's together with its franchisee Tarfeeh, is a perfect match,” said Daniel Del Olmo. Waleed Bin Mahfouz, Chairman of Tarfeeh, expressed his confidence and commitment in the partnership. He stated that "though Applebee's is already one of the largest casual dining franchisee in Saudi Arabia, there is still a lot of market to tap with different prototypes." Anees Moumina, CEO of SEDCO Holding Group, added "together DineEquity and SEDCO are ready for further strengthening the business relationship between the two entities and explore more growth opportunities." In the last decade or so the restaurant industry landscape in Saudi Arabia has changed drastically. Local players shared the market with international fast food chains. With the arrival of international casual dining restaurant chains, market demographics started to change at a rapid pace. Today there are several casual dining restaurant chains mostly American, successfully operating in Saudi Arabia. In quest for expansion and growth these international chains have invested heavily in the country. Saudi Arabia being one of the largest economies in Middle East also provides a lucrative platform for investment. In order to diversify revenue channels, restaurant chains are also developing and investing in several other segments like Delivery, Catering and Take Away. “World's largest casual dining chain Applebee's opened its first restaurant in Saudi Arabia in 2003 and has completed 11 years of successful business with rapid expansion in all major provinces of Saudi Arabia”, said Ahmed Marashde, CEO of Tarfeeh. Presently there are 15 Applebee's restaurants in Saudi Arabia, with an ongoing expansion plan. Applebee's is not only the largest casual dining chain Saudi Arabia but also largest in the world with more than 2,000 restaurants in more than 20 countries. Applebee's in Saudi Arabia has embarked on a smart and well thought expansion strategy by penetrating metropolitan and other smaller cities. The restaurant chain has several stand-alone buildings and several mall site locations as well. Reason behind Applebee's success is its core values of being your neighborhood restaurant, strong menu variety, refreshing menu with new items from time to time, care for its employees and customers. Applebee's proudly says “We are not in food business serving people but rather in people's business serving food” and that makes all the difference. The menu offers a wide range of variety starting from steaks, fajitas, seafood, pastas, chicken and a wide range of refreshing beverages and mouthwatering desserts. Kids get their own menu to choose from. Applebee's restaurants are great places for family get together, friends hanging out and celebrating special occasion. Applebee's is very actively involved in social causes as well. The chain has supported fight against childhood cancer, orphanages and is a big supporter of college and universities activities. The brand strongly believes in giving back to the society that has supported it for so many decades. Applebee's Saudi Arabia also has a strong B2B partnership with STC (Qitaf program), Riyadh Bank (Hassad Program) and several other companies. The brand is very active on social media platform as well. At Applebee's there are Saudi nationals working in kitchen, dining area in almost every restaurant and the chain plans to employ and train more and more young Saudis to make them a part of the success story. — SG
