Restaurant chain operator Wowprime Corp (王品集團) expects to become a global brand, either by forming joint ventures or via brand authorization, the company said yesterday.
The company — which operates 13 restaurant chains and about 290 outlets in Taiwan and China — plans to expand its number of outlets to 1,000 by 2020, and to 10,000 outlets globally by 2030.
“The fast pace of expansion may help the group’s number of outlets reach 1,000 earlier than the target year of 2020,” Wowprime finance division vice president Steven Liu (劉永裕) told an investors’ conference.
However, in a bid to raise its number of outlets to 10,000 and expand globally, the company would need to adopt multiple expansion strategies, Liu said.
The company’s hotpot restaurant brand 12 Sabu (石二鍋) and cafe chain Famonn Coffee (曼咖啡) have demonstrated their capability of becoming global brands, Liu said.
This year, Wowprime plans to open another 10 to 15 outlets in China under its 12 Sabu brand from its current three units, and hopes to see its Famonn Coffee brand break even, he said.
Wowprime saw net profits reach NT$318.66 million (US$10.61 million), or NT$4.69 per share, in the first three months of the year, up from the NT$259.82 million, or NT$4.07 per share, during the same period last year, the company’s financial statement showed.
The company’s expansion plans in Taiwan this year could maintain the same pace as last year, Liu said.
Wowprime opened 65 new outlets last year across the nation.
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