White Spot to open first Triple-O’s in Korea

-VANCOUVER—For the first time, White Spot restaurants will be taking its flexible, fast casual Triple O’s concept to Korea, company president Warren Erhart has told PRN.  The Seoul, Korea store is due to open in October.

The Suen Group, which has already brought Triple O’s to other Asian destinations, has signed a development agreement with White Spot to launch eight Korean Triple O’s in five years.

White Spot is will be opening 12 new Triple O’s units by March 31, 2009, three of them in the Asian market.  The other Asian units will be in Bangkok, Thailand and Hong Kong.

Triple O’s offerings include 100 per cent beef burgers, fresh chipped fries and hand scooped milkshakes in a retro environment.  The concept has been around for 10 years and served more than 4 million people last year, said Erhart.

It’s a flexible concept ranging in size from 600 to 2,400 square feet. There are currently 44 Triple O’s in British Columbia and Alberta, five in Hong Kong and one in Bangkok.

Erhart said the success of Triple O’s in Hong Kong is based on the 250,000 expats from Western Canada who now live there.  Prior to 1997, there were many families who sent their children to school in Canada, unsure about the handover of Hong Kong to China.

“There was great brand awareness from people who were going to school and travelling here.  The Suen family wanted the rights to the Hong Kong market, convinced that the market was fertile for Triple O’s growth.

“It’s something westernized, but at the end of the day it’s about flavour and taste,” added Erhart. “Triple O’s Mushroom Burger is big in Hong Kong, and won the Best Burger in Hong Kong for five years.”

The top three locations for Triple O’s in terms of gross sales are in Hong Kong.

Two of the Canadian Triple O’s will be located in Chevron gas stations in Kelowna and Richmond, BC, while another will be the chain’s first true shopping centre location in Richmond’s Aberdeen Mall.