Paris Baguette shows strong progress in China; Tous les Jours seeks success in Southeast Asia


Local bakery chain rivals Paris Baguette and Tous les Jours are seeking to expand their international reach with their successful entry into overseas markets.

Now they may avoid intense cross-street competition in Korea as they build up their global business in different regions.

Paris Baguette, owned by food conglomerate SPC Group, is a big name in China where the company operates 74 stores, the first of which opened in 2004.

China is a distinctive market where even renowned French bakeries like Paul and Fauchon have withdrawn business after failing to satisfy the local palate, according to the company.

After years of market research since the mid 1990s, the nation’s No. 1 bakery chain has appealed to local customers with a premium image by opening its outlets with modern ambiance mostly in downtown areas and well-off residential districts.

The company has also adopted the “Bake-off system,” under which frozen dough is baked at individual stores so that customers can purchase fresh items baked that day. 

“Thanks to our successful operations in China, now Korea has become a preferred destination for Chinese baker-wannabes to study baking instead of traditional favorites like Europe and Japan,” said a Paris Baguette official.

“Centering on China, we will create a global belt linking Southeast Asia, India and the U.S. to become the world’s No. 1 bakery brand by 2020.”

Paris Baguette also entered the U.S market in 2002, and currently operates 18 outlets there.

In a store in New Jersey that opened in 2008, customers other than overseas Koreans make up almost 40 percent of the total, the company said.

CJ Foodville’s Tous les Jours, the second-largest player in Korea, is a market leader in Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia.

Coupled with the Korean pop sensation in the regions, the company has been enjoying a sales boom recently. 

In Vietnam, where people have long enjoyed bread because of the French influence, the Korean bakery chain has seen a more than 70 percent growth in sales every year since 2007.

Even though its number of outlets is relatively small at 14, the sales per store are almost double those at other Vietnamese brand chain stores, according to the company.

Maintaining its concept of “artisan bakery” offering well-being and nutritious items, the company’s caf-like stores have become popular dining places there.

The stores also started an unprecedented customer service ― valet parking for bicyclists and motorcyclists.

“People like our manner of greeting customers. Now many other high-end restaurants in neighboring areas are following the valet parking service,” said a Tous les Jours spokesperson.

The company was also the first Korean bakery to receive royalty fees from foreign operators as it opened its first store in the Philippines in November.

The company has made two additional agreements for a “master franchise” business in Malaysia and Cambodia.

“The master franchise business reduces the initial investments while helping our brand name spread faster abroad and earn us foreign currency from royalty fees,” the official said.

Within the year, Tous les Jours plans to open new outlets worldwide, including some 20 stores in China and seven in Vietnam.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)