Retail City 2010, an annual awards ceremony held in Dubai and hosted by Cityscape Global, has named Cold Stone Creamery as its "2010 Franchise Operator of the Year."
According to the Khaleej Times, the award recognizes Cold Stone's accomplishments within its franchise operations and management.
Cold Stone first opened in the Middle East in 2007 and has since expanded into 25 stores. The Atlantis Hotel, The Palm unit is one of the largest ice cream stores in the world.
Expansion plans in the region call for 50 more store openings by 2012, including in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar.
Since opening its first international store in Tokyo in November 2005, the company now has 160 international locations in 14 different countries including China, Korea, Canada, Denmark and, most recently, Thailand.
