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Uzbek
The Belgian coffeehouse chain Le Pain Quotidien is set to enter the Uzbek market. Neither the launch date nor the number of locations has been announced, but it is known that the franchisee is the company Restofoods. According to the founders, these are the same people responsible for Pizza Hut, Hardee’s, and several other international brands, as noted by analyst Timurmalik Elmurodov.
Le Pain Quotidien was founded in 1990 in Brussels. In the mid-2010s, Starbucks was reportedly considering acquiring the chain, but the company’s founder responded, “We’ll manage on our own.” Since then, the chain has expanded to 18 countries. Uzbekistan will become its 19th market and the first in Central Asia.
This will be the fourth international coffeehouse-bakery to enter the market in the past year and a half – following the entry of Capito, Costa Coffee, and Cinnabon.
And when will Starbucks arrive? That will depend on when the Kuwaiti Alshaya Group decides. They are responsible for Starbucks in our region. Representatives of the company have visited Tashkent a couple of times, but the discussions have not progressed beyond negotiations.
The text has been translated by AI. For more accurate information, please refer to the Russian version of the article