"Our family has dinner at Paris Baguette every Sunday evening after grocery shopping."
On the 18th of last month (local time), we visited a Paris Baguette store in Westchester, a city with a population of 48,000 located about 5 km from Los Angeles International Airport in the United States. Ms. Aelia, whom we met there, said that visiting Paris Baguette every Sunday has become part of her family's routine. Other customers, like Ms. Aelia, came from Trader Joe's, a discount store, carrying their shopping bags and entered Paris Baguette to pick out bread. By 7 p.m., most of the shelves that had been full were empty.
At the North Hollywood store visited on the 23rd, we could see how Paris Baguette has become part of local consumers' daily lives. Parents with children chose ghost-shaped donuts and cakes topped with worm jelly in anticipation of Halloween. On the other side, an office worker opened a laptop and enjoyed coffee and bread. Employee Johnny Santiago said, "There is a perception that bakeries frequently visited by locals have many packaged breads, which lacks freshness," adding, "Paris Baguette fills its shelves with fresh bread every morning, and customers love it."
When Paris Baguette opened its first store in the United States in 2005, it set a goal to become a "neighborhood bakery." As a result, the number of stores surpassed 300 this year, and performance has gradually improved. Last year's U.S. revenue was 585 billion won, an increase of about 30% from the previous year. Repeat visit sales and visitor numbers have also increased for six consecutive years. In line with growth, it is expanding its local production base. It plans to build a bakery factory in Texas and gradually expand production lines to establish a production and supply system covering all of North America. By 2030, the scale will be approximately 28,000 square meters in total floor area, with an annual maximum production capacity of 500 million units. The factory will also serve as a hub to help enter the Central and South American markets in the future.
We visited Paris Baguette's Thiso Mall Sala store in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on the 26th of last month (local time). Although it was long past lunchtime in the afternoon, locals were seen everywhere working on their laptops while eating bread and salad. Ms. Tran Thi Huong, a woman in her 30s, said, "I often have lunch here and work as well," adding, "The menu is diverse and the space is comfortable, making it pleasant to stay for a long time."
This store, located in Thu Thiem, an emerging affluent area in Ho Chi Minh City, is characterized by its wide product lineup, ranging from popular Korean products such as sausage bread to Vietnam-specific menus like "Luc Song" bread, tailored to the commercial district's characteristics of dense high-end residential and office facilities. Another distinction here is offering coffee made with expensive Arabica beans instead of Robusta beans, which are native to Vietnam. The Thiso Mall Sala store ranks second in sales among Paris Baguette stores in Vietnam. Paris Baguette, which entered Vietnam in 2012, currently operates nine stores, including six in Ho Chi Minh City and three in Hanoi. It signed a master franchise agreement with local food and beverage (F&B) company Viet Thai International last year, laying the foundation for additional store openings.
Paris Baguette's overseas growth model aligns with the global strategy of Chairman Heo Young-in of Sammi Holdings, who has built a business foundation tailored to local consumer cultures. Since the mid-1990s, Chairman Heo prepared for overseas expansion through local market research via expatriates and the cultivation of specialized personnel, starting with entry into China in 2004 and cultivating North America and Southeast Asia as two major growth axes.
Chairman Heo has emphasized a method of rooting in the daily lives of local consumers rather than short-term store expansion, ordering substantive growth over speed. This approach combines the capabilities of local talent and market-savvy partners with the headquarters' baking technology and operational know-how. Investing in local production facilities to strengthen the supply base in the United States and expanding business through cooperation with local partners in Vietnam are results reflecting Chairman Heo's global strategy.
As a result, Paris Baguette has grown into a substantive global bakery brand operating over 750 stores in 13 countries. In the United States, it operates 331 stores as of last month and continues to expand its overseas business centered on North America and Southeast Asia.
in LIVING
