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SCMP Reporter

Restaurant chain Rainforest Cafe is defying Hong Kong's poor economy with its planned opening of a 16,500 square feet outlet, complete with tropical birds and mechanical crocodiles, in the Festival Walk development in Kowloon Tong on Monday.

  The United States-based company, listed on Nasdaq in 1995, is teaming up with local restaurant operator J.R. Robertson, whose interests include Grappa's and LA Cafe and who is managing director of Rainforest Cafe Hong Kong.

 The Hong Kong opening is the first Asian venture for the Minnesota-based Rainforest Cafe, which operates 19 jungle paraphernalia-filled outlets in the US - including two at Disney locations in Orlando - as well as five international sites.

 It expects to end the year with 28 sites.

 The US group will own 20 per cent of the local venture with Mr Robertson and other investors holding the balance.

  Steven Schussler, who created the concept and is senior vice-president for development and marketing, said the company was persuaded to invest in Hong Kong by Mr Robertson, who holds the master franchise for North Asia.

 'Crisis leads to opportunity and it takes a good operator to sense that,' Mr Schussler said. 'People still need to eat and they want quality meals.'  He said the company, which has recruited 300 staff, placed a strong emphasis on the quality of its food and would also cater to local tastes with a number of Asian menu items. He said his group was 'the only restaurant group in the world with US$65 million cash in the bank' at a time when other well-known theme chains were struggling.

 Last month, Rainforest Cafe announced third quarter results showing revenues of $56 million - up from $28 million in the same period last year - and net income unchanged at $3.8 million. Its shares have suffered however, dropping from a high in January of $21 25/64 to $7 1/16 yesterday.



US cafe chain defies slump to open new premises