Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Bacha Coffee has grown across Asia by establishing itself in some of the region’s wealthiest districts and airports. Now the Singapore-based coffee brand is embarking on an aggressive expansion as it launches a store on the Champs-Elysées in Paris and other locations across Europe.
The Paris shop is expected to open by the end of the year and is part of a plan to establish more than 150 stores worldwide within three years. The company is also planning to open stores in China, one of Asia’s most competitive coffee markets, where Starbucks is coming under increasing pressure.
Taha Bouqdib, chief executive and president of V3 Gourmet, the food and beverage group that owns Bacha Coffee and TWG Tea, told the Financial Times he wanted to be in “all the major cities of the world”.
Bacha’s global expansion comes as coffee consumption is rising across Asia. In China, homegrown companies such as Manner Coffee and Luckin Coffee are fighting Starbucks and Tim Hortons for market share, while in south-east Asia, the Philippines’ Jollibee Foods and Indonesia’s Kopi Kenangan are battling for dominance.
Bacha, which launched in 2019, differentiates itself with glittering shops and ornate packaging inspired by the Dar el Bacha palace in Marrakech.
Bouqdib said the chain, which turned a profit last year of S$2.2mn (US$1.7mn) with revenues of S$95.5mn, was on track to double both of those figures this year and that there were no plans to list the company or to raise private equity funding.
The company does not have a store in China but sells its merchandise online through Alibaba’s Tmall. “We saw the demand for coffee gifting is just unbelievable. And next year, definitely, we are opening,” said Bouqdib.
In China, Bacha plans to open a sit-down café and retail outlet in Shanghai and a retail and takeaway store in Beijing, said Bouqdib, adding that “affordable luxury concepts have huge potential”, even in developing markets such as Indonesia.
Analysts said the expansion appeared rapid for a premium brand. “Opening 50 company-operated stores in one year is no easy task for any brand,” said Bernie Gao, China food and drink analyst at market research company Mintel. “There is an inherent contradiction between high-end refinement and rapid expansion.”
Premium stores often focus on perfecting details around the product, service and culture of stores, said Gao, adding that Bacha would confront steep competition in China.
“The dominance of foreign chain brands has ceased to exist,” he said, citing “the rise in national pride among Chinese consumers along with increased trust in domestic brands”.
Bouqdib’s coffee venture comes after building TWG Tea, a luxury tea brand in Asia modelled after a French teahouse. Bouqdib formerly worked at Mariage Frères, a French gourmet tea company.
Read the full article here
