Tim Hortons may open outlets in Dhaka
Tim Hortons, Canada's multinational fast food restaurant chain known for its fresh coffee and home-style lunches, may open outlets in Dhaka as one of its franchisees sees huge business potential in the country.
“Running at least 40 outlets is possible in Dhaka and other parts of Bangladesh,” said Iqbal Roshd, a Bangladesh-born Canadian entrepreneur who now runs 12 Tim Hortons outlets in Toronto.
“A certain group of people have the ability to enjoy the products of Tim Hortons as their income has grown over the years,” he said.
Roshd recently came to Dhaka to meet the officials of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority to discuss the plan to set up outlets in Banani and Gulshan.
“I have spoken with Tim Hortons' Director of Operations Qasim Islam about the possibilities of bringing the restaurant chain to Bangladesh,” Roshd told The Daily Star in an email.
“If the market is big enough and all the logistics challenges are met, it will be great to have our world-class, legendary coffee and fantastic baked goods in Bangladesh. Hope that someday would be soon,” he said.
Some of the globally renowned restaurants, pizza and coffee shops and lunch brands have been running their outlets successfully for many years in Dhaka and making good business.
“So, it is possible to run Tim Hortons outlets in Dhaka,” said Roshd.
Globally, Tim Hortons has about 5,000 outlets and its annual income is more than 9 billion Canadian dollars, he said.
It also has shops in the US, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait City and the UAE. Among the Asian cities, it has the most outlets in Manila -- nearly 100. Established in 1964, Tim Hortons served 2.2 billion customers worldwide last year.
Roshd opened his first Tim Hortons store in Toronto in December 1995 and now earns 25 million Canadian dollars annually.
The outlets can serve more than seven million customers a year. Every customer is served in less than 25 seconds, he said.
He employs 400 people, with a majority from the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
