Bakery franchise Paris Baguette announced on Thursday that it now has 3,010 stores in the country, passing the 3,000 mark some 23 years after it began doing business. The franchise opened its first store in 1988, two years after its parent company, Paris Croissant, was first established. It now ranks as the only food franchise business in the country with this many outlets.
The most ubiquitous coffee chain in Korea, Caffé Bene, has 722 shops, while fried chicken franchise BBQ has just over 1,800 stores.
"We now have over 3,000 stores as we opened nearly 300 new branches this year," Paris-Croissant CEO Choi Seok-won said. "Having products delivered to stores three times a day, as well as our system of baking products in-store to ensure they are as fresh as possible, has proved effective in winning over customers."
Paris Baguette currently operates 70 stores in China after it first set foot in the market with a branch in Shanghai's Gubei district in 2004. In the U.S., it has 17 stores in locations such as Los Angeles and New York.
In a bid to stay close to its customers, the company has since 2005 held events where customers are invited to learn how to make a cake. The chain has already organized more than 500 such events.
