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Article: Au bon voyage: picking the right franchise partner may help ensure Au Bon Pain safe travels as it expands to Japan.(world partners)
- Article from:
- Chain Leader
- Article date:
- May 1, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Reed Business Information, Inc. (US). This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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It is easy to see why Warren Wadud's peers thought his business plan was a little ill conceived. After all, it hinged on the success of an American concept with a French name entering a Japanese market already saturated with bakery cafes. But Wadud, owner of En Group International LLC, a foodservice consultancy with offices in New York and Toyko, was certain that Au Bon Pain was going to be the biggest thing in the Land of the Rising Sun since Hello Kitty.
Wadud, who has lived in both cities and, with his family, has run restaurants in both cities, imagined the Au Bon Pain concept catering to what the Japanese refer to as the "office lady" demographic. "The ...