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SCMP Reporter

IN various corners of Hong Kong there are places which are a little piece of France.

They are the Delifrance cafes, a French-owned business with major plans to expand.

They now have 10 outlets in Hong Kong. Two more are opening in the next two months.

But it is hoped that within the next five years the chain will extend to 60 French-style cafes.

General manager Tim Shervill said: ''That's the plan at the moment, and we don't think that's an unreasonable estimate. There is great potential here.'' Delifrance is owned by the Paris-based group Jean-Louis Vilgrain whose main businesses include flour milling.

They have cafes around the world, including the extensive Vie De France chain in America.

They opened their first outlet in Hong Kong in the late 1980s and now have branches throughout South-east Asia.

Mr Shervill believes much of the success of the group is due to the fact that they have kept everything as authentically French as possible.

 The flour used in their products is bought over from France and the head baker at their Aberdeen factory is also French.

 Mr Shervill said: ''Everything in our cafes is French; the food, the music, the posters on the walls.

 ''This is a family-owned French business and what we offer is authentic.''  Eighty per cent of the cafe's customers are Hong Kong Kong Chinese, and Mr Shervill says the firm has worked hard to educate local people's palates.

 ''I think people now feel comfortable with our products and the prices we offer.

 ''We had to encourage people to walk through the door and when they've come in they've found they like it.

 ''What we offer here is French. We have never succumbed to the temptation to put rice and noodles on the menu.''  As well as its cafes, the company also supplies bread and other goods to restaurants and supermarkets all over Hong Kong.

 The firm already has four cafes in Beijing and is looking to open more in China.

 Their customers are mainly white-collar workers.

 Mr Shervill said the Chinese had taken well to their products.

 ''Our cafes are packed all day long. The potential for expansion in China is huge.

''We are also looking at Shanghai and southern China.'' 



Delifrance feeds more sweet teeth