BBQ has opened a store in Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city, launching its push into the Central Asian market.
Genesis BBQ Group said Tuesday it has opened its first Kazakhstan outlet, the MEGA Alma-Ata branch, at the large MEGA Alma-Ata shopping mall located in southern Almaty.
The store is a Quick Service Restaurant (QSR)-type outlet of about 78 square meters, located on the second-floor food court of the mall. The menu includes Golden Fried Chicken, Secret Sauce Chicken (seasoned chicken), chicken burgers, tteokbokki and combo sets, as well as the "UFO Chicken" menu, which features various chicken pieces dipped in cheddar cheese fondue. Spanning about 180,000 square meters, MEGA Alma-Ata is one of the largest complex shopping malls in Central Asia, drawing roughly 10 million visitors annually. As a mixed consumption hub attracting university students, office workers and tourists alike, it is considered one of Almaty's prime commercial districts with concentrated purchasing power.
Almaty is Kazakhstan's largest city and its de facto economic hub, regarded as one of the cities with the highest purchasing power in Central Asia. With the most developed food service, franchise, distribution and service industries, it is considered the key entry point that global brands choose first when entering Kazakhstan. Given the city's concentration of finance, trade, logistics, tourism and leisure industries, consumption is strong not only at lunchtime but also in the evening when business and leisure activities overlap. The city also benefits from proximity to major tourist attractions such as the Medeu skating rink, Shymbulak ski resort and Big Almaty Lake. With major universities such as Al-Farabi Kazakh National University located there, demand from young consumers and foreign students is also said to be abundant.
BBQ aims to open 100 stores by the end of the year, accelerating its expansion across Kazakhstan. The company plans to open 20 outlets sequentially in major local commercial districts during the first half of the year, and will enter Astana, the administrative capital, in the third quarter.
"This entry into Kazakhstan is the result of public-private cooperation built on our partnership with the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA)," a BBQ official said. "Starting from Almaty's key commercial district, we will continue expanding to major hub cities including the capital Astana, rapidly broadening our presence in the Central Asian market."
Genesis BBQ is actively pursuing global market expansion, having signed a master franchise (MF) agreement with a local Thai company last month to enter the Southeast Asian market. In Thailand, the company plans to open stores in major commercial districts of key cities including Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket and Pattaya. In particular, it intends to expand its franchise business by opening Casual Dining Restaurant (CDR)-type flagship stores centered on complex shopping malls such as Siam Paragon and CentralWorld. The company is also pursuing expansion beyond Thailand into neighboring Southeast Asian countries such as Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia.
