Krispy Kreme To Open First Shop In China

News Yahoo:

HONG KONG – U.S. doughnut maker Krispy Kreme plans to begin dipping into the massive Chinese-speaking market Tuesday by opening a shop in Hong Kong — China’s richest city.he 2,000-square feet shop tucked down a side street in the busy Causeway Bay shopping district marks Krispy Kreme’s debut on Chinese soil and only its second foray into East Asia.

So far, Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Corp. has nine shops in
South Korea, but it’s expanding aggressively in other parts of the region.

Other than Hong Kong, the company has signed franchise deals with groups in Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia, which plan to open stores by the end of the year. There are already more than 20 stores in Sydney, Australia. It’s also signed up a franchisee in the Middle East.

But perhaps one of the most salivating prospects for any multinational business is China’s 1.3 billion potential customers, and East-meets-West Hong Kong, already a hub for both Chinese and Western gourmet cuisine, may be an ideal testing ground.