Dunkin' Donuts plans to open dozens of outlets in Moscow more than a decade after it had to withdraw from the Russian market, a respected Russian business daily said on Tuesday.
The first Dunkin' Donuts outlet opened in Moscow in 1996, however, had to pull out of the Russian market as profits dropped in the wake of the 1998 financial crisis. The then owner of the chain, Allied Domecq, had been planning to set up at least 15 Dunkin Donuts outlets in Russia.
Konstantin Petrov, the owner of the Donuts Project company which currently holds the exclusive Dunkin' Donuts franchise for Russia and Ukraine, told Vedomosti he planned to open at least 50 outlets in Moscow in the next few years, including 10 already in 2010.
Key market players say the time is now ripe for similar projects in the Russian capital, though Dunkin' Donuts already has a Russian analog, Dony Donik.
"Despite the fact that there are many domestic and foreign players, the market is not yet saturated. Dunkin' Donuts is likely to operate in the low-end market segment, and during a crisis, price becomes a decisive factor for consumers," says Valeria Silina, a PR-director of Rosinter Restaurants, the leading casual dining chain operator in Russia and the CIS.
The demand is growing, but the number of coffee houses per capita in Moscow is seven times lower than in London or New York, she said.
Dunkin' Donuts, one of the world's largest coffee and baked products chains, serves more than 3 million customers per day. The first outlet opened in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1950, and over 8,800 Dunkin' Donuts stores have since opened in 31 countries worldwide.
MOSCOW, January 19 (RIA Novosti)
