Lee Hyo-sik is Finance Desk editor at The Korea Times. He manages finance-related stories on macroeconomics, banks, stocks, bonds, crypto etc. He is passionate about covering what's happening in Korea's financial industry and explaining it to both Korean and non-Korean readers. You can reach him at leehs@koreatimes.co.kr. Your insights and feedbacks are always appreciated.
Mr. Pizza opens 100th store in China
By Lee Hyo-sik
Mr. Pizza, Korea’s largest homegrown pizza franchise, opened its 100th store in China, 16 years after opening its first store in Beijing in 2000, the company said Sunday.
Its latest store is located in the city of Xihu, Zhejiang Province, near Xihu Lake, one of China’s most popular tourist destinations.
Mr. Pizza plans to open three more stores in Hangzhou and other nearby cities for the remainder of the year.
“We opened our 50th store in October 2014, meaning that it took 15 years to open 50 shops,” a Mr. Pizza official said. “But it took only one year to add another 50, which shows our remarkable growth in China in recent months. We are very optimistic about our business prospect in the world’s fastest growing economy.”
The pizza company posted a 1.5 billion won operating profit in the first nine months of the year. From 2000 through 2014, it lost money as it had to invest more than it earned.
By adding 20 more stores in China in the fourth quarter, the company expects its 2015 sales will double to 100 billion won from 2014.
“We used to focus on Beijing and Shanghai where the competition is fierce. But we decided to increase our presence in Nanjing and other inland cities, which has worked well for us,” the official said. “While seeking to become the No. 1 pizza chain in China, we will expand our reach to the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, the United States and other countries.”