Mr. Pizza opens restaurant in Philippines

Mr. Pizza’s first restaurant in Manila is crowded with customers. It is located on the first floor of the Greenbelt Mall, a popular shopping center. / Courtesy of Mr. Pizza

By Park Si-soo

Mr. Pizza, Korea’s leading pizza chain, opened its first restaurant in Manila, the Philippines, the company said Monday.

It is located on the first floor of the Greenbelt Mall, a popular shopping center with restaurants, theaters and many other recreational facilities.

The Seoul-based pizza company opened the restaurant in partnership with the WCGC, a local retailer. Under the deal, Mr. Pizza aims to run more than 20 outlets in the Philippines by the end of next year, and 100 by 2019.

The company is set to open four more outlets there by the end of the year.

“We see huge demand for high-quality pizza in the Philippines,” a Mr. Pizza spokesman said. “We strongly believe our products will be recognized there. In addition, the popularity of K-pop will ensure our smooth growth.”

Mr. Pizza plans to enter Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, during the second half of the year. It is also working to open a store in India in the near future.

The company ran 66 outlets in China as of December. It aims to increase that to 150 by the end of this year in cooperation with Golden Eagle, one of China’s biggest retailers which owns dozens of department stores and shopping malls.