Trendy diners in Istanbul may soon be able to lounge in zebra-striped chairs and gaze at Swarovski crystal curtains in a new Roberto Cavalli-branded club. The Pragma Group is planning to spend up to US$40 million (Dh146.9m) to roll out its concepts across Turkey.
The Lebanese company, with extensive holdings in Dubai such as the redevelopment of the Palladium conference centre, expects to invest between $30m amd $40m to open up to two dozen cafes, restaurants and clubs over the next three years, said Joe Tabet, the chairman of Pragma.
Pragma opened an office in Istanbul last week and plans to open outlets under the Cavalli Cafe, the restaurant and nightclub concept Cavalli Club, and BoHouse restaurant brands, as well as its technology ventures, he said.
"Turkey is really booming," Mr Tabet said. "It reminds me of Dubai seven or eight years ago."
Turkey has been identified as one of the world's next big emerging market economies, according to Euromonitor International, which said it would rank among the world's top 20 largest economies by 2020.
However, Euromonitor added that sales at cafes and bars in Turkey dropped by 22 per cent in 2009 because of the global economic crisis and the implementation of a smoking ban. But this retail segment was expected to start recovering this year, thanks to better economic conditions.
In 2009 sales at bars and cafes in Turkey, including both franchises and independent outlets, totalled an estimated 11.15 billion Turkish lira (Dh25.8bn), a figure expected to grow to 12.15bn lira by 2014, according to Euromonitor.
"In Istanbul you have 20 million residents, and the average income is on the high side," said Mr Tabet. "And people are hungry for those kind of concepts."
Pragma, based in Beirut, previously launched a $150m plan to roll out its Cavalli clubs and cafes across the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and South America. The first Cavalli cafe is being developed in Beirut, said Mr Tabet, with further sites being negotiated in Mumbai, Delhi, Singapore, Sao Paulo, Lisbon and Qatar.
"Once the pilot is ready in Beirut, then we will start rolling out the concept," he said. "In 18 months, we will have 12 to 15 cafes around the world."
For its Cavalli clubs, Pragma is finalising three sites in China and negotiating one in Mumbai.
The company is also redeveloping the Palladium conference centre in Dubai Media City into a "lifestyle destination" with restaurants, a 55-room hotel, a nightclub and a fitness centre. It will be rebranded as Billionaire Square, and include the Billionaire Club and Grill, a franchise of a nightclub developed by Flavio Briatore, the former chief of two Formula One teams.
Construction is expected to start next month, with the aim of finishing the project a year later.
Pragma Group had also planned a roadshow this month to meet potential investors for its open-ended fund, aimed at raising $100m for its international expansion.
But recent unrest in the Mena region and the economic impact of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan on equity markets have prompted Pragma to hold off until next month, said Mr Tabet.
"We would rather wait for the right time and let the investors cool down from the trauma from Japan, and Libya and the rest of the region," he said.
aligaya@thenational.ae
