Taipei, June 1 - Mister Donut's Taiwan operation plans to quadruple the number of its stores in the next two years to meet growing demand, the chain's top local executive said.
The Taiwan chain, a venture between President Chain Stores Corp. and Japan's Duskin Co., now has 23 stores sprinkled across four cities on the island, up from just 16 at the end of last year, Tadashi Kitami, president of the Taiwan operation, told Reuters in an interview late on Thursday.
"By year end we should have 40 stores," he said. "Our goal is to open 100 stores by the end of 2009. We're on schedule to do that. In the beginning we not only opened stores, but we had to set up our chain store system."
President Chain and Duskin formed their Taiwan partnership in 2004 and opened their first store late that year.
The company is hoping to tap consumer taste for so-called "premium snacks" with donuts that average about T$30 each (US$0.91), as much as triple the price of locally made equivalents sold by street vendors and bakeries.
"Our positioning is different from them," Kitami said. "We're a speciality chain. ... They can see our showcase, which gives them a certain feeling. They feel we have a good selection."
Kitami added that the average store now costs between T$7 million and T$10 million to set up.
Duskin also operates about 1,300 Mister Donut stores in its home market of Japan, and has presences in China and South Korea.
President Chain belongs to the Uni-President Group, one of Taiwan's biggest conglomerates, and also operates other global chains in partnerships on the island, including 7-Eleven and Starbucks.
Shares of President Chain were down 0.56 percent at T$89.40 by 0508 GMT compared with a 1.25 percent gain on the broader market.