Pie Face today announced that it has entered into formal agreements to open a minimum 50 stores in the next 5 years in Singapore and Malaysia with VL Development Sdn. Bhd., a syndicate of experienced operators in Malaysia backed by prominent businessman, Mr. Lim Beng Hian.
VL Development, which has business interest in property development, hotels and trading, is headed up by Mr. S.H. Goh, previously the Executive Director/Chief Operating Office with the Genting Group of Companies, specifically with Genting Resorts, Malaysia whom he worked with for more than 28 years.
Genting is an internationally recognized company and has business interest in Asia, United Kingdom and the USA. After leaving Genting, Mr. Goh was involved in property development, hotel/resort operations, manufacturing and managing a Malaysian Public Listed Company.
VL Development will build a modern CKF in Malaysia that will supply all food to their stores in the region. VL Development is also considering other regions in SE Asia as potential future markets for Pie Face.
In commenting on the partnership, Mr. Goh said: “We are very excited to be in business with Pie Face. They have a unique brand and an exceptional product that we believe will be well received by our markets in Singapore and Malaysia. We believe the hub and bespoke business model run by Pie Face, where the product is made from scratch in a local commissary, is the right business model for this type of activity and we look forward to building scale in our store network in conjunction with the central commissary itself.”
Andrew Lyme, Commercial Manager for Pie Face added: “Mr. Goh and the team at VL Development are highly experienced in the F&B space and can tap into a vast pool of human resource and financial capital – they are ideal partners for us in the region.”
Pie Face currently operates 89 stores in three countries. This deal marks the 4th and 5th market Pie Face will enter outside Australia. Currently the company is operating 4 stores in New Zealand with a partner, 8 company owned stores in Manhattan in the United States and more recently, the Middle East, where it recently signed a 100 store, 7 year deal with Foodmark, a division of the Landmark Group out of Dubai. Landmark is due to open 4 stores in Dubai/Abu Dhabi by the end of 2014.