Danish frozen treat company Hjem-Is has announced plans to open 500 shops in China.
“Chinese consumers demand quality Western products, and that is how they see Hjem-Is,” co-owner Tom Roth told Jyllands-Posten.
Roth recently returned from China with a contract to build 500 stores across China in co-operation with a Chinese billionaire. The first stores will open during the first half of this year.
“We are on a great adventure,” said Roth. “The 500 stores should be established within four to six years. It is an ambitious but realistic objective.”
Roth said that China’s 1.4 billion people create an “insatiable market”.
No bells
While Hjem-Is is best known in Denmark for its trucks carrying frozen treats into neighbourhoods with bells ringing to signal their arrival, the company will be building stores in China and not hitting the streets.
“Our Chinese partner is already in the food and the retail industries, so we think it is a very strong partnership,” said Roth. “They have the infrastructure and a very thorough knowledge of the retail industry in China.”
Roth said the market for ice cream in China is growing.
“The large growth rates in the industry offers us tremendous opportunities,” said Roth.
