Goobne grows in Hong Kong after China rebuff

Korean chicken franchise Goobne has opened a seventh outlet in Hong Kong, in a residential area in Tseung Kwan O.

It is part of the brand’s strategy to focus on profitable markets as its business in Mainland China has been hit by the Beijing/Seoul dispute over the deployment of the THAAD missile system in South Korea.

“We had two branches in China but now are left with one in Suzhou,” says a company spokesperson. “Our store in China is not very profitable.”

Another chicken franchise, BBQ, which has more than 150 stores in China, said in May that it was unable to expand as its local partner refused to invest further in Korean firms.

Goobne, meanwhile, has 11 stores in  Japan and Macau as well as China and Hong Kong. Its monthly sales overseas reached 1.5 billion won (US$1.3 million) on average this year, with its Hong Kong sales accounting for about 1.3 billion won.

“We are doing well in Hong Kong,” says the spokesperson. “The first store in Tsim Sha Tsui alone showed more than 400 million won in sales monthly last year.”