IHOP to Debut in Thailand and India; Applebee’s to Enter Bahrain, Oman and Panama as Part of Plan to Double International Presence by 2021
DineEquity, Inc. signed four new multi-unit development agreements in the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Latin America. These agreements will play an important role in the company’s plan to double international locations over the next five years.
Since the beginning of 2014, 80 new international restaurants have opened, nearly tripling the international development pipeline to over 200 restaurant commitments. This serves as foundation for DineEquity’s ability to double the international presence of its brands by 2021.
“We continue to see international expansion of our two brands as an important growth engine for DineEquity, with interest and enthusiasm coming from both new and existing franchisees,” said Julia Stewart, Chairman and CEO, DineEquity, Inc. “These positive factors make us bullish about the potential to double our international footprint within five years.”
The IHOP brand expands into the Asia Pacific region by bringing the all-day breakfast concept to Thailand and India. A multi-unit franchise agreement with King of Pancakes Co., Ltd. calls for 10 locations to open in Thailand by 2021. Another agreement with Kwals Catering Private Ltd. – a subsidiary of Kwality Group – expects 20 locations to open throughout multiple states of Northern and Southern India by 2025.
Applebee’s will extend its growth in the Middle East through a development agreement with Mohammed Fakhro that includes the opening of six locations in Bahrain and Oman by 2023. Meanwhile in Latin America, current IHOP franchisee Collins Restaurant Group targets five new locations in Panama for Applebee’s to be built by 2021.
“In addition to adding new territories based on our strategic growth plan and our 360-degree brand evolution efforts, we continue to see strong interest in building new restaurants and remodelling existing locations from our international franchisees across both brands,” said Daniel del Olmo, President, International, DineEquity, Inc. “Nearly 80 percent of our international franchisees are developing new restaurants, which is an important indicator of engagement as a result of our collaborative effort to optimally grow our footprint. Substantially all of our 200-plus restaurant obligations will be developed within our three primary targeted growth areas: the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Latin America. Our desire is to continue to expand with our existing franchisees, while exploring additional opportunities as appropriate.”
DineEquity’s global presence, through its IHOP and Applebee’s brands, includes all 53 US states and territories, and 17 other nations.
