French bakery PAUL has been a staple in Shanghai for years now, and while others have tried to replicate its success, nobody has really been able to supplant it. But they've got some new competition coming in May, when Lind, a German bakery with over 100 years of history back home, hits town.

Like PAUL, they work off the same "premium products at reasonable prices" formula, though their PR people assure me that they'll be a little cheaper than the French competition. Their press release also says that they'll focus on introducing a "compelling localized offering" including pastries, cakes, breads and sandwiches, a "sensual coffee shop experience" and "cosmopolitan modern healthy lifestyle from Germany". They'll also be doing some B2B work, selling their bread to some of the restaurants you may already frequent.

Lind plans to open 3 stores within the year, with the first opening in May at the Grand Gateway mall in Xujiahui. The second store will be their flagship store, and though they don't have a location set for it yet, they did send along those fancy computer-rendered images you see at the top of the page. By 2011 they're looking at 8-10 stores in Shanghai, and by 2012 they want to have 20 posts in China, including a few in Beijing and Hong Kong.