Award-Winning Debonairs Pizza, the leading pizza franchise on the African continent, announced today that it has opened its first outlet in Dubai, to mark their entry into the lucrative Middle East market. Debonairs Pizza through its franchisee (Next Generation Fast Food LLC) already has plans to expand rapidly throughout the UAE.
Karim Nanji, Managing Director, Next Generation Fast Food LLC, owners of the Master License for UAE, Debonairs Pizza, commented, “Bur Dubai is our first outlet in the region and shortly we will open in Mirdiff, Jumeirah and Dubai Marina. We have also received many enquires from local businesses looking to take the brand into Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujariah.”
“We decided to open in Dubai initially due to the density of the population in areas such as Bur Dubai and due to the large number of South African residents here, which we believe is over 65,000,” added Karim.
Debonairs Pizza was established in 1991 by two university students, who operated from a family bakery in Pietermaritzburg, in South Africa. Over the past 15 years they have opened more than 200 outlets across South Africa, Botswana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Ivory Coast, India and now the UAE. The corner-stone of their success has been its innovative direct marketing strategy which focuses on building long-term relationships with their customers with the support of creative advertising campaigns.
This was enhanced still further in 1996, when Debonairs Pizza was acquired by the highly successful Steers Group of Companies, now Famous Brands Limited, giving the franchise access to the most professional and polished support system available within the fast food franchising industry.
Debonairs Pizza serves traditional pizzas and hot subs together with side orders for delivery, take-away or in-store dining. It also has a number of unique products that are sure to entice homesick South Africans and pizza lovers alike.
A new pizza innovation, The ‘Double-Stack’ is a secret cream cheese filling sandwiched between two large crisp bases and finished off with a pizza topping of your choice that customers can look forward to as part of the launch.
Another first for Dubai will be the Debonairs ‘Hot Subs’, a French baguette loaded with succulent pizza toppings and melted cheese. The management who have all been trained in South Africa will also provide serving suggestions for their ‘Meals with Pizzazz’ suitable for business lunches, family gatherings, children’s parties….
Karim stated, “All too often, when ordering pizza, customers are faced with a polite but long process of order-takers. At Debonairs Pizza, you place your order at the counter as you enter and your order is served to you at your table within 10minuntes. That is fast considering everything is made fresh at the time of your order. All of our staff are also trained to suggest appropriate meal combinations according to the customer’s preference and the occasion.”
The outstanding success of their franchising business and the quality of their products and customer service have also been recognised with a string of awards and accolades from consumer magazines, marketing institutions and food industry associations including the coveted, ‘Best of the Best’ Star Reader’s Choice Award in 2005.
