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Global market to become Paris Baguette's bread and butter with plan for 12,000 stores by 2030

Published: 10 Dec. 2024, 18:12 Updated: 11 Dec. 2024, 09:26

KIM JU-YEON
[email protected]

Paris Baguette's Pondok Indah Mall branch in South Jakarta, Indonesia, opened in March 2022. The location was the bakery chain's third store in the country. [SPC]

Paris Baguette, Korea's largest bakery chain in terms of sales and stores, has always been a mishmash of East-meets-West influences.

The brand’s name and logo, which sports an Eiffel Tower, screams French. It found its footing with Korean consumers with local favorites like rice doughnuts and sausage buns, and its globally best-selling item — a soft sponge cake with whipped cream and fresh strawberries — hails from a 20th century Japanese baker who studied Western confectioneries in the United States.

Now, with its ambitious overseas expansion plans to open at least 12,000 stores worldwide by 2030, the bread and pastry manufacturer will incorporate even more regional quirks and flavors that suit local palates, adding to its portfolio of 300 to 400 bread varieties. There are currently 616 overseas Paris Baguette stores and around 3,400 in Korea.

SPC Paris Baguette's global revenue across its 500 overseas stores climbed to 659 billion won ($460.8 million) in 2023. The bakery chain launched its 600th store in Toronto in October of this year.

Paris Baguette, owned by food conglomerate SPC Group, made its global debut in 2004 with a branch in Shanghai. SPC Chairman Hur Young-in spearheaded the push, believing the overseas market to be the group's future growth engine. This was motivated by limited growth back home in Korea, further stunted by the government's implementation of restrictions on the number and locations of new stores to protect smaller enterprises in 2013.

His son, SPC President Hur Jin-soo, has been building on those global ambitions, meeting with government officials including French President Emmanuel Macron and a delegation from Malaysia just this year as he manages Paris Baguette's overseas business. The younger Hur is also the CEO of affiliate bakery chain Paris Croissant, the de facto holding arm of SPC Group.

SPC Chairman Hur Young-in, left, and SPC President and Paris Croissant CEO Hur Jin-soo have continuously pushed for Paris Baguette’s global expansion. [SPC]

SPC said it will finish the construction of a halal-certified factory in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, by the end of the year. The facility will produce 60 types of bread and pastries for customers in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, where the company hopes to break into a Muslim-majority market worth $2 trillion.

The group said it is working with master franchises and joint ventures in Southeast Asia that have a good understanding of the countries’ cultural and religious characteristics to expand its business in the region, such as with joint ventures Berjaya in Malaysia and Erajaya in Indonesia.

Out of the 14 countries that Paris Baguette operates in, it works with two joint ventures and five master franchises in Southeast Asia. The bakery will be opening its first branches in Thailand, Brunei and Laos next year.

"Southeast Asia's mall culture is very developed. It's common in the Southeast Asian market for customers to enjoy shopping, dining and other recreational activities within one mall, and so Paris Baguette has been running a variety of shops with different concepts in malls that offer light snacks in addition to full meals," a SPC spokesperson said.

SPC opened its 600th overseas Paris Baguette branch on Bloor Street in Toronto, Canada, in October. [SPC]

The food company also has grand plans for Canada and the United States, with the aim of expanding its current 193 locations to 1,000 by 2030, according to Paris Baguette America CEO Darren Tipton. Ten to 15 more locations will be opened in North America by the end of this year.

Paris Baguette turned a profit with its U.S. stores for the first time in the first half of 2023 18 years after opening its first shop in Los Angeles in 2005. This was on the back of improved sales at shops in Manhattan and downtown L.A., according to SPC.

“Guests have grown to love the core and seasonal menu items, which are French-inspired with a nod to their Korean roots and a touch of North American flair,” a spokesperson for SPC said.

There are 616 overseas Paris Baguette stores as of December 2024. [SPC]

In China, where Paris Baguette has around 350 branches, the most outside of Korea, SPC plans to open 100 more in 2025. The firm also plans to launch a store in Italy that it has been preparing for with a memorandum of understanding signed with Italian coffeehouse chain Pascucci early this year, and at least 100 stores in Britain by 2030.

Paris Baguette opened its 600th overseas branch in Toronto in October, followed by its first European franchise in London's Canary Wharf in November as it seeks to increase the number of franchisees in Europe.

BY KIM JU-YEON [[email protected]]