Wooden Bakery to expand in KSA

More deals planned for Qatar, UAE, and Oman

Wooden Bakery will soon open a bread factory in Saudi Arabia. The new unit, located in Dammam, will cater for the increasing demand of the Saudi market, said Joumana Keserwani, assistant vice-president at Wooden Bakery.

Wooden Bakery has been present in Riyadh since 2009 through three branches and a factory. The franchisee behind Riyadh’s outlets will be undertaking the new investment in Dammam, Keserwani said. The new factory has a built up area of around 7,000 sqm. Investments are estimated at over $10 million. Keserwani said that the franchise contract allows the franchisee to use the Wooden Bakery brand name for a period of 15 years, at least. The contract is renewable.

“We aim to have over ten outlets in the KSA within the coming years,” Keserwani said. She said new franchises are planned for other countries in the GCC, mainly Qatar, UAE, and Oman.

Wooden Bakery also has ambitious plans for the local market. “We are planning to increase our current 21 branches up to 50,” said Keserwani. In the coming three months, five new outlets will be added to the list. New branches will be located in Chiah, Bayada, Ashrafieh, Zgharta, and Naccache.

The Wooden Bakery brand is owned by its founders Edouard Bou Habib and his two sons Ghassan and Assaad. The owners have also sold franchise rights to local partners, such as Delice and Delight catering company which bought rights to open the Chiah branch with an investment of some $3.8 million.

Keserwani said that local franchise fees are lower than foreign ones, and vary according to the operations of the branch. Type A franchise deals, mainly given to standalone stores of over 500 sqm, are more expensive than type B and type C deals, which are given to outlets of areas 300 sqm and 200 sqm respectively.