Mom's Touch has been aggressively expanding its stores in Japan after winning over local tastes some three years since entering the market. The company plans to add more than 10 stores by the second half of this year, bringing its local store count to more than 15. It is also accelerating its global business expansion, extending its reach into new countries in Southeast Asia and Central Asia.
According to the restaurant industry on the 20th, about 25 companies participated online and offline in a franchise showcase that Mom's Touch held in Japan on the 16th of this month, showing keen interest. The showcase featured a brand introduction along with seminars and discussions sharing franchise operation strategies, tastings of key menu items, and individual consultations.
Through this event, Mom's Touch plans to move beyond the stage of settling into the early market with direct-run stores and to launch its franchise business in Japan in earnest. To this end, it has signed franchise business contracts with multiple corporations through its Japanese subsidiary Mom's Touch Japan, and lease contracts for buildings where new stores will open have also entered the final stages.
Mom's Touch first entered the Japanese market by opening a pop-up store in Shibuya, Tokyo, in October 2023. Starting with Shibuya in April last year, it opened stores in major Tokyo areas including Harajuku and Shimokitazawa, and currently operates four direct-run stores and one franchise store. In particular, the Shibuya store has achieved cumulative visitors of 1.44 million and cumulative sales of about 10.4 billion won two years after opening.
Mom's Touch is continuing its aggressive expansion strategy across the broader global market, including Laos and Thailand. In Laos, it opened its first store in Vientiane this March through the master franchise (MF) model. It plans to unveil a second store soon and to open up to a sixth store within the year, establishing a foundation for local business. In the case of Mongolia, since entering in September 2023, its store count has reached 19, the most among overseas markets. In Thailand, which it entered in October 2022, it currently operates six stores.
In the second half of this year, it will also open its first store in Uzbekistan in Central Asia. Mom's Touch has drawn up a plan to open a total of 60 stores in Uzbekistan alone. Along with this, it is also accelerating its push into the Southeast Asian market, pursuing MF contracts with local companies in Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Indonesia.
"In April this year, we appointed Nakamura Shoichi, former president and CEO of Pizza Hut Japan, as president and CEO of Mom's Touch Japan, and we are accelerating the expansion of our local franchise business," a Mom's Touch official said. "Cooperation proposals for MF business are coming in from various countries, so we are also actively reviewing entry into new markets."
