The signboards of small shops in Myeongdong, downtown Seoul (Yonhap)
SEOUL, March 28 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of restaurant franchises surged even in 2021 when the hospitality industry was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to data from the Fair Trade Commission, the number of franchise restaurants stood at 167,455 at the end of 2021, up 23.9 percent year on year.
This figure was the highest since statistics began in 2013, and the growth rate also set a new record.
By business category, the number of affiliated stores for Korean food franchises stood at 36,015, up 39.8 percent year on year, while the number of chicken franchise stores rose by 13.6 percent to 29,373.
The number of coffee franchise stores rose by 30 percent to 23,204, while the number of bakery franchise stores grew by 5.5 percent to 8,779 and the number of pizza franchise stores rose by 14.7 percent to 8,053.
The average revenue of franchise restaurants, however, declined by 1.4 percent to 279 million won (US$215,390).
By business category, the average revenue of chicken, Korean food and pizza franchise stores fell by 2.2 percent, 6 percent and 6.5 percent, respectively, while that of coffee and bakery franchise stores rose by 6 percent and 2.4 percent.
The new store opening rate for restaurant franchises (the number of newly opened stores vis a vis the total number of affiliated stores in the same year) stood at 26.2 percent, while the shutdown rate stood at 12.6 percent.
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
