Tim Hortons currently operates six stores in India, five in Delhi and one in Chandigarh | Photo credit: Surja Sen Das Raj

Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons plans to open 120 stores in India in the next three years with a focus on high footfall locations. 
 

The company's India CEO Navin Gurnaney said Tim Hortons was investing up to Rs 300 crore ($37m) to expand the chain in the country following its market entry in August 2022. 

Outlet growth will initially focus on northern India before expansion next year to cities such as Mumbai, Pune, Surat and Ahmedabad. 

Tim Hortons will target mall, high street, airport and office complex locations, with 50 stores slated to open in its second year of operations in India and a further 60 throughout the following 12 months. 

The company currently operates six stores in India, five of which in Delhi and one in Chandigarh. Three further locations are set to open in December 2022. 

Speakin at the Indian Restaurant Congress 2022 event in New Delhi, Gurnaney highlighted increased consumer spending in India as driving Tim Hortons’ expansion plans. 

“The global aspirations, the number of industries that are coming to India and adding to people's ability to spend more, the social media that makes them think differently globally, any retail brand has prima facie the possibility of success, then it depends on how well you execute,” he said. 

Tim Hortons first announced it would launch in India in March 2022 as part of an exclusive agreement with AG Café, a joint venture entity owned by fashion and retail conglomerate Apparel Group, and investment manager, Gateway Partners. 

Gateway Partners is also an investor in Tim Hortons’ Middle East business. In September 2022 the Canadian coffee chain opened its first outlets in Kuwait and plans to debut in Pakistan before the end of the year.