SEOUL, KOREA - Tous Les Jours signed a master franchise (MF) agreement with a Chinese company to open stores in Shandong Province (China’s second largest provincial economy) starting next year. Tous Les Jours has penetrated more Chinese provinces than any other S. Korean bakery chain brand. Having established firm footholds in large cities, major coastal cities and the Central Plain (or Zhongyuan), etc. in China, Tous Les Jours is now poised to show what sets premium-quality Tous Les Jours bakeries apart from other brands to more Chinese customers.
Tous Les Jours, a S. Korean bakery chain owned by CJ Foodville, said November 24 that it struck a master franchise (MF) agreement with a local company to open stores in Shandong Province, China’s second largest provincial economy.
Under the MF agreement, Shandong will become the seventh Chinese province where the S. Korean bakery giant has opened stores. Tous Les Jours, armed with the most extensive supply chain network in China among Korean rivals, currently has outlets in six provinces (Sichuan, Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Fujian, and Zhejiang) and in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
Shandong, a coastal province located on the eastern coast of China between Shanghai and Beijing, is home to large cities, such as Weihai and Qingdao. And it has a population of nearly 100 million and is one of China’s major economic regions, according to the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA). The 2013 trade between S. Korea and Shandong amounted to USD 32.8 billion, the third largest among China’s 31 provinces and cities. Shandong also packs robust energy, electronics, chemical, textile and food industries.
Tous Les Jours’s MF partner is the Qingdao Daily News and Media Co., a joint venture between Qingdao Media Group and DC Group. The Qingdao Daily News and Media engages in the food and restaurant business, as well as in media services and the property business.
Before striking the deal with CJ Foodville, the Qingdao Daily News and Media had set up an independent Tous Les Jours business division, exhibiting its strong commitment to business with Tous Les Jours.
The MF agreement was signed by the Qingdao Daily News and Media and CJ Foodville at the headquarters of CJ Foodville in Seoul. “I am now wearing a tangzhuang instead of a shirt and tie in order to properly celebrate the signing of this MF agreement. This tangzhuang jacket has been traditionally worn by Chinese men on special, important occasions. I think of this MF agreement with CJ Foodville as a marriage-like strong business tie-up between the two companies,” Wang Hai Tao, CEO of Qingdao Media Group, said expressing high expectations for Tous Les Jours’s speedy expansion in China.
“If we regard this MF agreement as a marriage between the two companies, Tous Les Jours is CJ Foodville’s child. Hence CJ Foodville will spare no efforts in supporting this marriage,” said CEO Jung Moon-mok.
Starting next year, CJ Foodville will open up to 60 stores in Shandong over the next five years.
In particular, as the Qingdao Daily News and Media has expertise in the food business, as well as in media and advertising, it will effectively assist Tous Les Jours in selecting the location of stores and carrying out PR activities.
As of now, Tous Les Jours runs a total of 157 stores in seven countries, including the US, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Cambodia and Malaysia.
By Lee Jae-seung(jasonlee@koreaittimes.com)
