Paris Baguette to open 150th store in North America

From top left clockwise, Paris Baguette's Broadway store in Manhattan; Lexington Avenue store in Manhattan; Yonge Sheppard Centre store in Toronto; University City District store in Philadelphia; Los Angeles downtown store in California; and Red Bank store in New Jersey / Courtesy of SPC

By Ko Dong-hwan

SPC's Paris Baguette is set to open nine more shops in the United States and Canada this month marking the milestone 150th store opening for the major Korean bakery brand's North America operations.

SPC, Korea's major food company, will open Southpark on Whyte, the second Paris Baguette in Canada, in Edmonton in Alberta Province, on Thursday. The third store, Newmarket East, will open in Newmarket, Ontario, on Sept. 22, now under the company's direct management.

Paris Baguette opened its first Canadian store in Toronto last March.

In the United States, seven additional stores are on their way. North Carolina will see the earliest opening this month, while the rest will open in the states of New York, California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.

By the end of this year, SPC plans to debut Paris Baguette in seven other U.S. states, including Washington, Hawaii and Tennessee. This is part of the company's goal to open 60 new bakeries in North America this year.

An official from SPC, referring to the American consumer market as “the hometown of franchise businesses” and “the battlefield of global brands,” said Paris Baguette is doing well there.

“Paris Baguette has finally settled in orbit in the American market,” said the official. “Our goal is to lead the country's bakery industry and repeat that success story in other countries as well.”

After setting foot in the U.S. market in 2005, Paris Baguette's American office saw a net gain for the first time in the first half of this year. The company said the achievement is particularly meaningful as it has been earned competing against global brands in highly competitive key U.S. areas like Manhattan and downtown Los Angeles.

To promote itself further in American communities, Paris Baguette sponsored the Ladies Professional Golf Association in the U.S. as covered by Fox News last June. Last April, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with the City of New York and the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea to promote the brand in New York City.