The Canadian coffee chain joins Luckin Coffee, Compose Coffee, Kopi Kenangan and Fore Coffee in entering the southeast Asian business hub this year
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Singapore is Tim Hortons’ third market in southeast Asia, after the Philippines and Thailand | Photo credit: Clement Proust
Tim Hortons has opened its first outlet in Singapore at the VivoCity shopping centre in partnership with franchisee Marubeni Growth Capital Asia.
Marubeni plans to open three further Tim Hortons stores in the coming months and has a longer-term goal of operating at least 10 outlets in Singapore by the end of 2024. The franchisee also plans to launch Tim Hortons in Malaysia within the next 12 months.
The VivoCity store brings Tim Hortons southeast Asia presence to three markets, with the brand currently operating 52 stores in the Philippines and eight in Thailand.
Ontario-based Tim Hortons currently operates 5,700 outlets globally, including over 3,870 stores in Canada and more than 750 in China. Singapore is the brand’s 16th international market.
Earlier this month, Tim Hortons’ parent company Restaurant Brands International (RBI) reported strong third quarter momentum for the coffee chain’s international segment. Tim Hortons’ sales outside of Canada grew 16% in the three months ended 30 September 2023 to $351m, while outlet growth reached 21%.
Tim Hortons joins several international coffee chains in entering Singapore this year, including China’s Luckin Coffee, South Korea’s Compose Coffee and Indonesia’s Kopi Kenangan and Fore Coffee.
However, highlighting growing competition and high operational costs in the wealthy city-state, value-focused Flash Coffee closed its 11 remaining stores in Singapore in October 2023 after amassing significant debt.