California Pizza Kitchen Signs Franchise Deal to Expand into India

By: California Pizza Kitchen | 2 Shares 140 Reads

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- California Pizza Kitchen, Inc. (CPK) (Nasdaq:CPKI) announced an agreement today with new franchise partners JSM Corporation Pvt. Ltd. (JSM) and Daud Arabian Trading to expand into India. As part of the agreement, a minimum of fifteen new California Pizza Kitchen full-service restaurants are expected to open in India over the next ten years with the first restaurant scheduled to open in the summer of 2010.

"We are thrilled to be expanding our CPK brand into India, a country with a growing consumer economy and that represents one of the world's largest emerging markets," stated Rick Rosenfield and Larry Flax, co-founders and co-CEOs of California Pizza Kitchen.

JSM is a leading restaurant group based in Mumbai and is the exclusive franchisee for Hard Rock Café across India, operates the Asian-inspired Shiro Concept and other independent restaurants.

Daud Arabian Trading, headquartered in the UAE, is a subsidiary of The Daud Group of Oman which has additional operations throughout the Arab Gulf, Taiwan and India. The Daud Group has been successful in bringing such brands as McDonalds, Yo! Sushi and Gourmet Burger Kitchen to the Middle East. One of its other subsidiaries, Gourmet Gulf Company, is a current CPK franchise partner who opened the first California Pizza Kitchen restaurant in Dubai earlier this year.

California Pizza Kitchen, Inc., founded in 1985, is a leading casual dining chain featuring an imaginative line of hearth-baked pizzas, including the Original BBQ Chicken Pizza, and a broad selection of distinctive pastas, salads, appetizers, soups, sandwiches and desserts. Of the chain's 252 restaurants, 208 are company-owned and 44 operate under franchise or license agreements. There are currently 27 restaurants located internationally in China, Japan, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Mexico, South Korea, Guam, Indonesia and United Arab Emirates. CPK premium pizzas are also available to sports and entertainment fans at two Southern California venues, Angel Stadium of Anaheim and STAPLES Center. Also included in the company's portfolio of concepts is LA Food Show Grill & Bar, which has locations in Manhattan Beach and Beverly Hills, California. The company also has a licensing arrangement with Kraft Pizza Company, which manufactures and distributes a line of California Pizza Kitchen premium frozen pizzas. Children who dine at California Pizza Kitchen choose from an extensive menu, recently named "The Best Kids Menu in America" by Restaurant Hospitality Magazine.

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