BARBECUE PLAZA ADDING INDONESIA TO ITS PLATE

Singapore and Vietnam are also on the radar,
according to Ms Chataya.

Barbecue Plaza Co is moving further into international markets, with plans to open its first restaurant in Indonesia by the end of this year.

Assistant managing director Chataya Choopojcharoen said the company is in talks with Indonesian partners to set up a joint venture.

The move is part of the company's vision to expand its Japanese-Mongolian style of barbecue throughout Southeast Asia.

"Indonesia will be the second country we will expand into after Malaysia, because of the big population size, as well as geographic similarity to Thailand," Ms Chataya said.

Barbecue Plaza is scouting Indonesian locations. Its first foreign restaurant opened in Malaysia five years ago. Now there are nine stores in Malaysia, with six to be added this year.

The company expects to have 20 in Malaysia by 2014.

"The business of Bar-B-Q Plaza in Malaysia is doing well, with growth every year and no direct competitors," Ms Chataya said.

Apart from Malaysia and Indonesia, the company is looking for opportunities in Singapore and Vietnam in the future.

At home, it plans to invest 450 million baht to expand domestically this year.

Of the total, 200 million baht will be allocated for marketing, 100 million baht for new store openings and existing store renovation, and the rest for technology and equipment upgrades.

The company has 86 Bar-B-Q Plaza restaurants across the country, mostly in Bangkok.

It will open 10 new stores this year in Hat Yai, Suphan Buri, Surat Thani and Udon Thani. Each new location will add 20-80 jobs.

Ms Chataya said demand for self-cooking restaurants and dishes like sukiyaki and shabu continues to grow even though many new players are entering the 12-billion-baht market.

Local sales of Bar-B-Q Plaza rose by 10% last year to 1.6 billion baht, slightly below an earlier 12% estimate due to the impact of flooding at a factory in Nava Nakorn Industrial Park.