One of the U.S's largest coffee chains Dunkin' Donuts has re-entered the Russian market and has plans for expansion, the company's franchisee for Russia and Ukraine said on Wednesday.
Dunkin' Donuts first established itself in Russian in 1996 but had to close its two outlets after a drop in sales during the 1999 crisis.
Konstantin Petrov said Dunkin' Donuts plans to begin expansion from Moscow by opening ten outlets in the capital's centre, shopping malls and airports in 2010. In total it plans to open 20 stores in Russia in 2010 and expand its chain in the next three to five years to at least 50 outlets.
Initial investment in setting up production and opening the first five outlets in Moscow totaled 120 million rubles.
"We plan to invest 300-400 million rubles in development this year," said Petrov.
The opening of the first outlet, planned for April 28, had to be postponed because of disruptions on flights delivering packaging materials from New York after the volcanic eruption in Iceland that paralyzed air traffic throughout central and northern Europe.
After Moscow, the franchise plans to open outlets in the Russian towns of Sochi, St.Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg and Krasnodar.
Dunkin' Donuts was founded in 1950 in the United States and has more than 8,800 outlets in 31 countries worldwide. It specializes in coffee, donuts, bagels and other baked goods.
MOSCOW, April 28 (RIA Novosti)
