South Korean bakery giant SPC Group said Wednesday that it is opening nine new Paris Baguette stores in North America this month, seeking a bigger footing in one of the key strategic markets.

With the planned nine new openings, SPC will be operating a total of 150 stores in the region.

In Canada, SPC will open a Paris Baguette store at the Southpark on Whyte, a residential complex located in Alberta on Friday, while another outlet is set to open in Newmarket, Ontario, next week.

In the US, seven new stores are scheduled to open by the end of September in six different states, including New York, California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. Later this year, three more will open in Washington, Hawaii and Tennessee.

The recent push for expansion comes as part of the company’s goal of opening 1,000 stores in the North American region alone by 2030.

In line with its bigger presence, the company’s sales in the region have almost tripled over the past three years. Its US sales surged from 132.6 billion won ($99 million) in 2020 to 352.8 billion won in 2022. This year, the figure is highly likely to hit 400 billion won, according to industry estimates.

“Paris Baguette has been recording improved performance in the highly competitive US market, the home of franchise businesses and an arena for global brands,” an official from SPC said. “As the company’s franchise business in the US is now on track, SPC will boost its growth in the North American region and use the US business model to accelerate expansion in other countries around the globe.”