Fadi Malas Seeking Outlet Ownership for Just Falafel
Just Falafel CEO Fadi Malas has revealed the company will be investing in owning more outlets. Speaking to Caterer Middle East, he explained: “We first owned four stores, which we then sold to our franchisees in 2011. When we started franchising, we thought we need two operating infrastructures to manage propriety stores or to manage franchisees. And if we were able to franchise, we’d rather sell our stores and focus on growth and only sell franchises. “We own two stores today and now we want to go back to owning stores because we feel there is great value in store ownership and we’d like to have some ourselves as much as our franchisees." Just Falafel currently owns only two of its operating stores, in Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates and Deira City Centre. The company will begin owning stores in the UAE before considering outlets in other countries, said Malas. He explained: "We want to grow our ownership of stores primarily across the UAE because this is where the head office is, and then when we own enough stores in the UAE, we’ll own them somewhere else as well." Just Falafel currently has five stores under development in the UAE and is looking at doubling the number of outlets in the country. The company operates more than 50 stores around the world, with another 20 under development, and over 200 more signed projects across 18 countries.
Just Falafel previously launched its 'Would you like to work with me?' recruiting campaign, which will help to double its global workforce of nearly 700 within the next year. The firm has used social media, like Facebook where it has nearly two million followers, to attract people to the brand, with the campaign garnering over 200,000 views in a couple of days on its website, and resulted in close to 100 people applying every day for jobs.Just Falafel CEO Fadi Malas said "that whilst academic achievement, drive and personal achievements are of course important, it’s also key for me to know each potential employee on a more personal level. We are looking for authentic, inspired people in line with our core values that will live and breathe our corporate culture within the restaurants and back at head office".
