The Devil Cometh

Their plans for the Indian market are pretty aggressive,with an aim to open five to six cafés by the end of 2010. “The first café will be opened in Mulund at the Nirmal Lifestyle mall; hopefully this will be around Diwali. It will be right in the middle of the English Premier League and at a festive time,” Yun points out. The English football season starts in August and goes on until May,thus the timing will be perfect for fans to congregate and watch matches together.

Asked about the unusual location for a bar,Yun tells us that the company has simply franchised the cafés for Maharashtra to Sachin Kohli and Jatin Suri of Billionaire Sports. He did point out in addition to the obvious focus on Manchester United matches,they intend to screen various sports including cricket and therefore it would attract customers even when Man United are not playing.

In addition to the opportunity to watch live matches,fans will also get a chance to buy merchandise and participate in promotions and contests.

“Local fan clubs are encouraged to tie up for promotions at our cafés. We also encourage franchisees to purchase tickets for matches at Old Trafford and offer them as prizes for competitions,” Yun points out.

The cafés themselves serve American and British food,but will also serve local cuisine. Yun does admit,though,that for their current cafés the bar is far more popular than the restaurant. Asked about the cafés alienating customers who support other football clubs,Yun observes that “in our other cafes,we have seen a lot of rival football supporters come for matches as well. Asian fans aren’t as fanatic as they are in England,and we don’t expect to alienate any fans other than perhaps Liverpool fans”. Liverpool FC,England’s most successful club is Manchester United’s biggest rival.

While the opening of a football club inspired bar/restaurant is a first in India,we have our reservations about its location—it is neither in trendy Bandra/Juhu or the traditional South Mumbai. However,it will be interesting to see whether it succeeds in India,with an estimated 20 million Manchester United fans. Much more fans than in Manchester,of course.