Paris Baguette opens its 600th overseas branch on Bloor Street in Toronto, Ontario (Courtesy of SPC Group)
Paris Baguette opened its 600th overseas store in Toronto, Ontario, as the leading South Korean bakery brand is rapidly expanding its global business.
The franchise run by South Korean food conglomerate SPC Group said on Tuesday it launched its seventh Canadian branch of 230 square meters (2,476 square feet) with 30 seats on Bloor Street.
“Canada is strategically important for Paris Baguette as it is a representative Anglo-American country with Quebec, a regional center of French culture,” said a Paris Baguette official in Seoul. “We aim to speed up our business expansions in global markets including Canada.”
Paris Baguette is operating some 190 stores in North America having opened 30 new bakeries so far this year. The South Korean company plans to add more than 20 shops in the market by the end of 2024.
It held the 2024 Paris Baguette Franchise Convention, an event for franchisees across the Americas, in August in Las Vegas.
Paris Baguette CEO Hur Jin-Soo speaks at the ‘2024 Paris Baguette Franchise Convention on Aug. 6 at Resort World in Las Vegas (File photo by Paris Baguette)
RAPID EXPANSIONS
Paris Baguette is accelerating its expansions in other markets.
Earlier this month, it agreed to open stores in Thailand, Brunei and Laos to increase its presence in Southeast Asia.
The company is scheduled to complete the construction of a factory that manufactures halal-certified foodstuffs in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, at year-end.
Paris Baguette generated sales of 650 billion won ($477 million) last year from overseas markets such as the US, Canada, China, France, the UK, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Cambodia.
By Sul-Li Jun
sljun@hankyung.com
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.
