The Sfinks Polska Group’s strategy for 2024-2029 anticipates the completion of the restructuring process within the company and further development of the network. Among the priorities for this period are the repayment of existing obligations and a systematic improvement in the group’s profitability. Sfinks aims to double the number of restaurants under its own brands, maintaining sales growth in a comparable network well above inflation. Development is expected to be achieved through concepts that require less investment, based on the umbrella brand SPHINX, such as SPHINX Sport Bar or The Burgers by SPHINX. Another important direction of development is expected to be the expansion of sales beyond gastronomy through the offer of ready meals and hotel licensing.
– The work accomplished in recent years forms a solid foundation upon which we can build further group development. The existing network of restaurants, strong brands, and the franchising model we’ve honed are our key market advantages. But these are not our only strengths. Tools for delivering further growth include our loyalty program Aperitif, ready meals, which we’ve been successfully developing and selling to the largest supermarket chains in Poland for the past two years, and – critically from the perspective of managing a restaurant network – IT systems we’ve been investing in for years. These illustrate that systematic, consistent work pays off. Our focus is on showcasing good performance over the long term. The ultimate goal of all our actions is to create a solid foundation for the multi-year development of the Sfinks Polska group. This should increase the value of the company for shareholders over the long term. Once we’ve rebuilt our equity base, we aspire to be a dividend company and to share profits with our investors – commented Sylwester Cacek, President of the Management Board of Sfinks Polska.
Sfinks Polska’s development strategy envisages that by the end of 2024, Sfinks will repay trade and public-law liabilities provided for in the restructuring proceedings, and by August 2028, it intends to repay the BOŚ Bank loan in full. Simultaneously, the company plans to continue developing its network in Poland based on the brands it owns. According to strategy targets, sales in the comparable network are supposed to increase significantly above inflation. Additionally, Sfinks plans to double the number of restaurants during the strategy period. Franchising will be the main network development model within the group.
– We aim to convert most of our locations to a franchise model, which proves most efficient. We want to develop our networks in this way. We plan to build new concepts that will facilitate a lower level of staff employment in restaurants. Our strongest brand – SPHINX, recognised by over 80% of respondents, will be the heart of this development. We plan to develop the gastropub network under the brand SPHINX Sport Bar and The Burgers by SPHINX in the quick-service restaurant segment. We also plan further development in this area under the brands Lepione&Pieczone by Chłopskie Jadło. Operating under a known brand will also enable our franchisees to obtain more favourable lease offers and lower their start-up costs through obtaining fit-outs from landlords that are already set-up for restaurant operations. We remain open to collaboration with individuals who are already running restaurants and would like to join the Sfinks Polska franchise system – commented Sylwester Cacek.
According to the strategy’s assumptions, Sfinks also anticipates the foreign development of the SPHINX brand based on the franchise or master franchize. It is to be implemented by the dependent entity, SPHINX Restaurants. Sfinks currently has a letter of intent regarding the sale of a master franchise in Egypt.
Another source of additional revenue for Sfinks Polska, taking advantage of the synergy effects from the scale of operations, will be collaborations with non-group entities. This primarily concerns the companies owning the WOOK and Meta brands, in which Sfinks holds a 24% stake, and the company that is developing the Italian brand Popolo. These brands already complement the group’s offering in the context of combined gastronomic concepts.
– Our franchisees often open so-called ‘combo restaurants’, where several brands restaurants located next door to each other are served from one catering base, e.g. SPHINX and Piwiarnia. We hope to not only develop on this but also take it a step further and leverage the wide range of dishes from various cuisines for our own range of ready meals – announces the president of Sfinks.
Over the past two years, over 3 million ready-made meals sporting the SPHINX brand have already been sold in the largest retail chains in Poland. The current offer in this segment contains over 35 items – both meals under the SPHINX, Chłopskie Jadło and Spice Up brands, featuring Indian cuisine, and, based on licenses from cooperating entities, Asian cuisine dishes from WOOK and Italian cuisine from Popolo.
Sfinks also plans to leverage the power of their brands for development outside the gastronomy industry. It plans to extend the use of the SPHINX brand for labelling hotels which house restaurants under this banner. The first such establishment is already operating along expressway S8 in Żabia Wola near Warsaw.
As part of its development activities, Sfinks also aims to continue the development of IT tools, including algorithms using artificial intelligence, to optimise and professionalise customer offers. This will be linked to the development of the Aperitif loyalty program, the number of users of which is expected to increase to at least 1.5 million during the strategy period. Introduced modern solutions will enhance the automation process.
The strategy’s implementation will be financed with free cash generated by the group, as well as from resources from franchisees, who, in line with the franchising model principles, finance the operation of their restaurants. They will be able to take advantage of the investment funding model which has been introduced by Sfinks Polska as a franchisor.
