Donut Wars
Donut wars over Asia's sweet tooth.
Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corp. has reached an agreement with Star360 Group to develop 15 franchised stores in Singapore over the next 5 years. “We are pleased to finally introduce Krispy Kreme, the brand that has won fans the world over, to Singapore,” said Andy Chaw, CEO of Star360 Group. “We expect that Krispy Kreme has the potential to take the local doughnut scene by storm.” Krispy Kreme said that the company has nearly 500 stores in international markets and this and other development agreements adds another 400 international sites to the queue.
getchee Take
Expect to see a lot more Krispy Kreme in Asia since 400 more international locations is almost double their current number outside of the States. Their footprint already spans across regions such as China, Thailand, Japan, and Korea. Plus, the other big players like Dunkin’ Donuts and Mister Donut are establishing strong networks in the regions. Also keep an eye out for smaller, more local players like J.CO Donuts & Coffee. Their expansion rate has been tremendous, growing to over 70 locations in 15 Indonesian cities within 4 years. While Krispy Kreme focuses on Singapore, J.CO could take other markets by storm as Indonesia becomes more saturated.
Source: CNBC
Several Krispy Kreme stores opened in Hong Kong a few years back, but they have since all closed. Reasons given at the time included high retail rents and not doing enough to cater to local taste. It will we interesting to see how they go in Singapore and whether they will then return to Hong Kong.
Thanks for the comment, Robert. Yeah, I also think it’ll be interesting to see if they return to Hong Kong.
Maybe other coffee chains might be more suitable for the market. I just came back from Korea. There are quite a few coffee chains there. Maybe places like Tom n Toms or Paris Baguette have a better chance for expansion.