News

Dairy Queen opens milestone restaurant in China

February 9, 2012

The Dairy Queen system, part of Berkshire Hathaway, opened its 500th location in China this week, and has plans to open more than 100 new restaurants in the country by the end of 2012.

China has been the strongest international expansion market for the chain, which first opened there in 1991 in Beijing.

The 500th DQ restaurant, located in the Hu Dong finance district in Shanghai, is operated by Shanghai Shida Catering Management Company, which has more than 350 Dairy Queen locations throughout southern and eastern China.

John Gainor, president and CEO of International Dairy Queen Inc., and members of his executive team, joined franchisees Li Ping of Shanghai Shida Catering; Marvin Hung, Beijing Hop Hing Fast Food; and Norris Man, Centroid Group, for the grand opening.

"With the world's fastest growing major economy, China continues to be a tremendous expansion market for the Dairy Queen system and we attribute that in large part to strong alliances with our development partners here, including Shanghai Shida Catering," Gainor said. "It is a real honor for my team and me to be here for the opening of our 500th store in China."

The new Shanghai unit will serve Dairy Queen signatures such as the Blizzard, MooLatte, soft-serve cones and sundaes, Blizzard Cakes and fruit-blended beverages.

Of the 271 Dairy Queen locations that opened during 2011, 131 were in China.

International Dairy Queen Inc., is headquartered in Minneapolis, is the parent company of American Dairy Queen Corporation, which develops, licenses and services a system of more than 5,900 Dairy Queen and Orange Julius stores in the United States, Canada and 18 other countries.

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