Page 28 - March 2023 #179

Al Heerah Beach
Striving for Excellence
Al Fisht, Sharjah, UAE

In 1964 the first Tim Hortons restaurant opened its doors in Hamilton, Ontario
and people from around the world have been ordering the Tim Hortons iconic
Original Blend coffee, Double-Double coffees, Donuts and Timbits ever since.
In this interview RLI spends some time with Hesham Almekkawi, CEO of Tim
Hortons – Middle East to discuss how the company is expanding in one of its major
global markets.
he company which began life almost 60 years ago is now UK, Mexico, Spain, Thailand and the Philippines.”
Canada’s largest restaurant chain and serves over five million Today, under AG Café, the brand has expanded in the GCC to reach
Tcups of coffee every day with 80 per cent of Canadians visiting more than 250 locations across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Oman,
a site in the country at least once a month. More than a coffee and bake Qatar and Bahrain and recently opened its first seven restaurants in India.
shop, Tim Hortons is part of the fabric of Canada and a proud symbol This year will also see the company expand into Egypt for the first time.
of the country and its values. Recently five new stores were inaugurated on the same day in Kuwait
The business began its international expansion in 2011 with the UAE’s and Almekkawi says this was a fantastic success. The brand has been
first café & bake shop which was opened in Dubai by the iconic retail welcomed by Kuwaitis with an overwhelming reception with many people
group Apparel. In the last 12 years global expansion has become an awaiting its launch into the country after experiencing it for the first time in
increasing priority for the brand across many countries. Canada. On the day of launch, people queued for hours in advance of the
“In recent years the brand has introduced its well-loved offerings to opening, reflecting the strength of the brand in the region.
guests beyond Canada and the US,” explains Hesham Almekkawi, CEO The vision of Tim Hortons across the Middle East in years to come is
of Tim Horton – Middle East. “Currently we have over 5,100 restaurants to reach 500 restaurants. While it is not immediately their intention to
across 14 countries and regions, including the Middle East, China, the become the largest in terms of number of restaurants, what is important

Dubai Hills Mall Dubai Festival City Mall
Dubai, UAE Dubai, UAE