An edited version of this story first appeared in DNA Money edition on Saturday, September 01, 2012.
As part of a strategy
change Zee Learn Ltd, India's largest operator of preschools under the
Kidzee brand, will be setting up 300 centres across the country in the
next five years. To be company owned company operated (CoCo), these will
be in addition to the over 300-odd Kidzee centres that Zee Learn adds
annually using the franchise approach, said a top company official.
Navneet Anhal, chief operating office, Zee Learn Ltd, said the Kidzee
vertical is one of the company's main businesses, and the management's
decision to invest was taken post a carefully-thought capital
expenditure (capex) plan.
"Adding the dimension of 'good to great', a critical change of strategy for our growth phase has been incorporated starting this year. Preschools being our flagship business, the company has decided to make equity investments and set up owned and operated Kidzee centres across the country. Work on five such centres is currently on and we should be opening them within this fiscal," said Anhal.
Introspecting on their strengths with the objective of leveraging it for future growth, the company decided to tap the huge opportunity in the form of company owned preschools considering they had a very good product in the form of Kidzee. The management has thus decided to additionally pursue the CoCo approach (which will also serve are excellence centres for the company's franchise business) for further expansion.
"Preschools being an area of minimal risk thanks to the management's vast experience and knowledge in the space, the company thought it prudent to make further investment in this vertical of their education business," he said.
"Adding the dimension of 'good to great', a critical change of strategy for our growth phase has been incorporated starting this year. Preschools being our flagship business, the company has decided to make equity investments and set up owned and operated Kidzee centres across the country. Work on five such centres is currently on and we should be opening them within this fiscal," said Anhal.
Introspecting on their strengths with the objective of leveraging it for future growth, the company decided to tap the huge opportunity in the form of company owned preschools considering they had a very good product in the form of Kidzee. The management has thus decided to additionally pursue the CoCo approach (which will also serve are excellence centres for the company's franchise business) for further expansion.
"Preschools being an area of minimal risk thanks to the management's vast experience and knowledge in the space, the company thought it prudent to make further investment in this vertical of their education business," he said.
The company is looking at investing around Rs 120 crore in the next
five years towards setting up these CoCo Kidzee centres which will be
funded through equity infusion plans announced last year and internal
accruals. "Each centre will call for an investment of anything between
Rs 30-40 lakh as we are not buying real estate but leasing out the
space. The money will be invested largely towards creating the right
environment including designing, furniture, play equipment etc for the
children there," he said.
Zee Learn currently has over 1,000 (signed) Kidzee (franchise) centres across the country of which 850 are fully operational and the balance are in advanced stages of getting operational. "That numbers keep changing monthly as new centres get into the network as and when they are ready for launch," he said.
Taking into account the inflationary changes, the company has incorporated around 10% hike in the fees to take care of administration expenses and provide quality education to the children. Last year Zee Learn did over 300 sign-ups through franchise arrangements and has set a similar target for this year as well.
The company created a new chain of schools last year catering to the upper tier of consumers, branding it as Mount Litera World School and a preschool equivalent of that called Mount Litera World Preschool. While there are two Mount Litera World Preschools already operational in Lokhandwala (Andheri) and Chembur, the first Mount Litera World School is coming up at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai. The project is being developed in over 1.4 acre land parcel with state-of-the-art infrastructure and facilities. The school is in a very advanced stage of development and the company is planning a grand launch of the facility in the coming months.
While Anhal did not share specific details of their World School project, a top company official had, in an earlier interaction last year, said that the facility will be an integrated education complex comprising school, media management training institute. The project cost envisaged then was upwards of Rs 50 crore.
The company also has big plans in the area of K-12 schools (kindergarten to XIIth standard) and is planning to set up 400-500 schools under the Mount Litera Zee School banner. To be established largely through the franchise route, these schools will be established in states like Maharashtra, Punjab, Goa, to name a few. The company currently has 50 Mount Litera Zee Schools and plans to sign up 30 franchise agreements in this financial year.
Zee Learn currently has over 1,000 (signed) Kidzee (franchise) centres across the country of which 850 are fully operational and the balance are in advanced stages of getting operational. "That numbers keep changing monthly as new centres get into the network as and when they are ready for launch," he said.
Taking into account the inflationary changes, the company has incorporated around 10% hike in the fees to take care of administration expenses and provide quality education to the children. Last year Zee Learn did over 300 sign-ups through franchise arrangements and has set a similar target for this year as well.
The company created a new chain of schools last year catering to the upper tier of consumers, branding it as Mount Litera World School and a preschool equivalent of that called Mount Litera World Preschool. While there are two Mount Litera World Preschools already operational in Lokhandwala (Andheri) and Chembur, the first Mount Litera World School is coming up at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai. The project is being developed in over 1.4 acre land parcel with state-of-the-art infrastructure and facilities. The school is in a very advanced stage of development and the company is planning a grand launch of the facility in the coming months.
While Anhal did not share specific details of their World School project, a top company official had, in an earlier interaction last year, said that the facility will be an integrated education complex comprising school, media management training institute. The project cost envisaged then was upwards of Rs 50 crore.
The company also has big plans in the area of K-12 schools (kindergarten to XIIth standard) and is planning to set up 400-500 schools under the Mount Litera Zee School banner. To be established largely through the franchise route, these schools will be established in states like Maharashtra, Punjab, Goa, to name a few. The company currently has 50 Mount Litera Zee Schools and plans to sign up 30 franchise agreements in this financial year.
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