Wingstop heading to South Korea

It sees a potential for 200 to 250 total restaurants in the country.

Wingstop is heading over to South Korea, part of a mission to be a top ten global restaurant brand.

The agreement outlines an initial commitment of 60 restaurants over a ten-year period, with the potential for 200 to 250 total restaurants in the country.

The first restaurant is expected to open in early 2023.

"The established demand for western brands and a tech-savvy, delivery-centric consumer base in Korea is expected to prime Wingstop's success," Nicolas Boudet, Wingstop's president of international, said in a statement. 

"This agreement demonstrates the brand's strong global expansion momentum, on the heels of development milestones in Canada and Indonesia. In partnership with an established operator in the region, we look forward to bringing our craveable flavor experience to Korea – a vibrant market that is influential in the Asia-Pacific region and a key growth lever for our business."

The first of its 100 planned restaurants in Canada will open next month and an expanded development agreement in Indonesia was recently executed, taking the market from 50 to 120 anticipated restaurants.

Wingstop believes that it can achieve 7,000-plus global restaurants – over 3,000 of which are expected to be outside of the United States.

In FY 2021, the chicken brand’s system-wide sales increased 20.2% year-over-year to approximately US$2.3 billion, marking the 18th consecutive year of same store sales growth.