Continuing its Asian expansion, Boston-based Au Bon Pain inked a franchise agreement that will add 300 locations in Japan in the next five years.
REINS International Inc., a Japanese company with thousands of restaurants, convenience stores and supermarkets, is searching Tokyo for its first Au Bon Pain site.
“We took a long time talking to different parties and decided that REINS International was a great partner,� said Sue Morelli, Au Bon Pain president and CEO. “There really wasn’t a piece of our business that they didn’t understand.�
Au Bon Pain, a chain of 255 bakery/cafes with $200 million in revenue last year, is expanding abroad through franchisees. Units in Thailand, Taiwan and South Korea look like Au Bon Pains here, with the name untranslated, the same yellow umbrellas and signage, and nearly identical menus.
“We have an international model that is now 10 years old in Bangkok,� Morelli said. “What we’re finding is the international business consumer who travels to New York recognizes the Au Bon Pain in Bangkok. That’s why we think Au Bon Pain has the cachet that can travel internationally very successfully.
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