American “retail treat” brand Dairy Queen opened its 500th franchise in China this week, and plans another hundred before the end of this year.
The 500th DQ restaurant is located in the Hu Dong finance district in Shanghai, and is operated by Shanghai Shida Catering Management Company, which already has more than 350 Dairy Queen sites throughout southern and eastern China.
“With the world's fastest growing major economy, China continues to be a tremendous expansion market for the Dairy Queen system and we attribute that in large part to strong alliances with our development partners here, including Shanghai Shida Catering," said John Gainor, president and CEO of International Dairy Queen, Inc.
“Today, more than ever, people everywhere are looking for value, but they still want to treat themselves," he continued. “The Dairy Queenbrand offers unique and delicious treats and products at a great price and we look forward to continued expansion."
Dairy Queenopened 271 new locations in 2011, of which 131 were in China. Its first restaurant there was opened in Beijing in 1991, so it has reached the 500 milestone in its 20th year in the country.
The new Shanghai outlet will serve the full range of DQ’s soft-serve products. I’m sure that says something about globalization, but I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.
Dairy Queen is owned by Berkshire Hathaway Inc, Warren Buffett's Omaha, Nebraska-based investment company. The first Dairy Queen store opened in 1940 in Joliet, Illinois, and its corporate offices are located in Edina, Minnesota.
