SEOUL - South
Korea's food and restaurant franchisers were increasing
their efforts to expand into overseas markets as part of
their efforts to grow, despite flagging sales at home,
industry sources said Thursday.
The Gaon
Franchise Co, which has 33 franchisees nationwide, plans
to open its first restaurant chain early next month in
Tokyo's Shinjuku area.
"We are going to increase
the number of franchisees to 100 by next year in Japan,"
said an official at the company that franchises a Korean
barbecue restaurant called "Sam Cho Samgyeopsal" that
specializes in flame-grilled slices of pork bellies.
Gaon's move is the latest in a series of local
franchiser efforts to expand their business in overseas
markets to prop up waning sales here amid an economic
slowdown.
South Korea's economy is managing to
chug along on the back of resilient external demand this
year, but private spending at home is at rock-bottom as
debt-ridden individuals cut back on consumption.
Genesis Co, a franchiser of chicken delivery and
takeaway stores under the brand "BBQ," opened its first
store in Spain in June this year, and plans to open
outlets in South America.
"We plan to increase
outlets in China as sales are increasing rapidly," said
a company official.
Genesis plans to increase
the number of franchisees there to 30 by the end of the
year, from the current five.
"It makes sense to
venture into fledging markets, because the competition
here is too severe," the official said.
The
Paris Baguette Co., a local bakery franchise, aims to
soon have 10 stores in China. The company opened its
first outlet in Shanghai, China, earlier this month.
Mr. Pizza Co, which recorded 4.1 billion won
(US$3.57 million) in sales in China last year, is
expecting 7 billion won in sales this year.
"Since 2000 when we launched our first store in
China, we have done well thanks to the rapid economic
growth there," said a company official, adding: "There
is still growth potential there."
(Asia
Pulse/Yonhap)
Sep 24, 2004
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