American smoothie chain Smoothie King Franchises plans to open 1,000 new outlets across the nation over the next five years.The proposed outlets will be a mix of franchised and company owned. The move is part of the chain's aim to expand its footprint globally.
The smoothie chain has signed 49 new development agreements with franchisees since the start of January 2013.
Smoothie King anticipates that the majority of the 49 new agreements will open by the end of the year as part of the 100 total planned openings in 2013.
Smoothie King global CEO Wan Kim said, "Smoothie King's accelerated growth in 2013, along with 20 months of consecutive positive same-store sales is further driving development in both new and existing markets."
The company, which already has a presence of more than 500 outlets in the US, is actively seeking franchise opportunities in the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions, as well as Texas.
As part of its global expansion, the chain intends to open 50 stores in South Korea and ten stores in Singapore, besides some stores in Malaysia, in 2013.
New Orleans-area-based Smoothie King currently has more than 600 outlets operating in 32 states, the Caymans, Singapore and the Republic of Korea.
