Dunkin’ Donuts yesterday opened its first shop in Shanghai. The restaurant is located on Fuzhou Road, one of the busiest commercial streets in the city. The company has to date secured agreements to open a total of 150 shops in Mainland China over the next 10 years and expects to sign additional commitments for expansion in other regions of China in the near future.
Mercuries & Associates, Dunkin’ Donuts’ franchise partner in both Shanghai and Taiwan, is set to open 100 shops in Shanghai over the next 10 years. Two additional locations will open in the region by the end of this year. Mercuries, one of the largest companies in Taiwan, brings 25 years of retail experience, operating multiple consumer brands in the region. It currently operates 15 Dunkin’ Donuts shops in Taiwan and will open another 85 shops there over the next several years.
“Shanghai represents the first step in Dunkin’ Donuts’ growth in mainland China,” says Anthony P. Pavese, COO for Dunkin’ Donuts International. “We are committed to expanding our presence in the region and are actively looking for a portfolio of partners to further accelerate our growth.”
The first shop opening in Shanghai comes on the heels of the company reaching an agreement with Shaanxi Stellerich Food & Restaurant Co., LTD, a Xian-based company, to open 50 Dunkin’ Donuts shops in Guangdong within the next 10 years. Shaanxi Stellerich is also a franchise partner with Dunkin’ Donuts’ sister brand, Baskin-Robbins, opening the first Baskin-Robbins shop in Shanghai early next year.
The Dunkin’ Donuts restaurant in Shanghai will offer a complete menu of Dunkin’ Donuts’ internationally recognized coffee and baked goods. The restaurant will serve items customized to suit local taste preferences such as green tea donuts, mochi rings, which are cake donuts indigenous to the region, and iced fruit teas. The restaurant will be a welcoming environment for customers to connect with friends and family while discovering new food and beverage choices.
Today, the company has nearly 1,800 Dunkin’ Donuts shops in the Asia Pacific region, including more than 550 in Korea, 600 in the Philippines, and 260 in Indonesia.
