Tim Hortons to open first Korean branch in Gangnam

Canadian coffee brand Tim Hortons is opening its first Korean branch in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, with an anticipated launch later this year.

Tim Hortons' outdoor facade is installed at the Gangnam Urban Hive building at the Sinnonhyeon Intersection in southern Seoul on Tuesday [TIM HORTONS]

Canadian coffee brand Tim Hortons is opening its first Korean branch in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, with an anticipated launch later this year.

Following its announcement for its debut in Korea made in May, Tim Hortons initiated preparations, installing exterior screens on the building's facade located at the Sinnonhyeon Station intersection on Tuesday. The forthcoming establishment will encompass a 335-square-meter (3,605-square-feet) space and is scheduled to open within the year.

Korea is the seventh Asian market Tim Hortons has entered, following expansions into China, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore.

The Korean operation will be managed under a master franchise agreement with RBI (Restaurant Brands International) by BKR Korea, the company responsible for overseeing RBI's Burger King.

Tim Hortons, founded in Canada in 1964, has evolved into a global coffee chain with a presence in over 16 countries worldwide, operating more than 5,600 outlets. The brand intends to offer a diverse menu that includes premium coffee, specialty beverages and baked in-store donuts like the flagship Double Double coffee and the Timbits donut.

The vicinity near Gangnam Station is strategically chosen as a testing ground for foreign brands, given its accessibility to a highly mobile population.

Gangnam District already hosts various prominent foreign brands.

Among them is the first Five Guys branch introduced by Kim Dong-seon, the head of Strategic Management at Hanwha Galleria, situated along Gangnam-daero. Across the street, there's the first location of Super Duper, a premium handmade burger brand brought in by the chicken franchise operator BHC Group in 2016. Additionally, the area features the inaugural Shake Shack branch, operated by the food and beverage giant SPC, further intensifying the competition.

In addition to the established competition in the burger market involving Shake Shack, Super Duper, Gordon Ramsay and Five Guys, the coffee market will now also see Tim Hortons in the mix.

Peet's Coffee, one of the top three coffee brands in the United States along with Blue Bottle, has registered its trademark rights in Korea in May, indicating their intent to further tap into the Korean coffee market.

As of 2021, Korea's coffee market size was approximately $4.3 billion, ranking it third globally, behind the United States at $26.1 billion and China at $5.1 billion, according to a market research report from Euromonitor. Korea boasts 1,384 coffee specialty shops per one million people, marking it at 2.6 times the number in Japan at 529 and 7.5 times that of the United States at 185.

"We are very excited to bring Tim Hortons to Korea, a vibrant coffee market with a coffee consumption per capita nearly three times higher to the world average," said Rafael Odorizzi, president of RBI for the APAC region. "We are confident our Korean guests will love our premium quality coffee and delicious food and I cannot wait to see people having their first cup of Tim Hortons coffee."

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]