40 Cinnabon outlets planned in region

Saudi Arabia's United Restaurant Development, which owns the franchise for Cinnabon in the UAE, Jordan and Egypt, plans to open 40 stores in the next three years.

The company, which opened its first Cinnabon store in the region in the UAE back in July last year, has just opened its tenth store in the Emirates at Dubai Media City.

Development has not yet begun in the Jordan and Egypt markets, but the first stores in these countries are expected to open by March next year.

On average, a Cinnabon outlet costs about Dh1 million to set up, however the bill is dicated by the size of the store, explained Walid Hajj, managing director, United Restaurant Development.

The company, which is busy expanding in its Middle East markets, also has its eyes on two countries in Western Europe.

With many U.S. companies and brands being boycotted by consumers in the region, Hajj pleaded for people to take into consideration who they are hurting.

"The people that are going to be hurt by this are not the U.S. economy but the people that own the local franchise," he said.

"I understand why people have these emotions but logically thinking, when you talk about numbers, we are hurting ourselves."

Cinnabon products, which are described by Haji as specialty bakery food, have been well accepted in the UAE market.

The store at Deira City Centre is the largest in terms of sales for the chain outside of the U.S. and Canada.

In order to boost sales of Cinnabon products at its new outlet in Dubai Media City, the company has introduced a service whereby electronic bikes are used to deliver the food directly to office desks.