Retail News CRM

Category: Food

Retail News Asia is committed to providing both local and global retailers with the latest Food and Food & Beverage news throughout the Asian market. This on a daily base.

  • Ajisen China sales on the up

    Ajisen China sales on the up

    Ajisen China has reported a 4.8 per cent improvement in same-store sales for the June quarter.

    The Hong Kong-listed fast-casual restaurant operator combined sales in its local operations with those in the mainland and did not comment on the respective markets this reporting period.

    Overall sales for the restaurant business rose by 6.4 per cent, reflecting network expansion.

    The sales growth is a marked turnaround from the same period a year ago, when it reported a 10.8 per cent sales decline in Hong Kong and 1.8 per cent drop on the mainland, citing stiff competition in the restaurant and catering sector, especially in Mainland China.

    Ajisen China operates Ajisen Ramen restaurants under licence to the Japanese brand owner.

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  • Everstone to sell Burger King India franchise

    Everstone to sell Burger King India franchise

    Singapore-based private equity firm Everstone plans to sell its Burger King India franchise.

    The firm is reportedly in advanced discussions with Rahul Bhatia-controlled InterGlobe group to sell the franchise a deal worth US$204 million.

    The fast-food chain operates 140 outlets, spread across cities in north, west and south India. Last year, its sales reached $54 million.

    Everstone has managed Burger King India since 2013, along with Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Copper Chimney, Bombay Blue and Noodle Bar in India.

    The discussions between the two parties come at a time when Bhatia is in dispute with Rakesh Gangwal over their flagship airline IndiGo.

  • China·Chengdu Panda Cafe opens in Naples

    China·Chengdu Panda Cafe opens in Naples

    China·Chengdu Panda Cafe, a coffee house featuring panda elements, officially debuted in Naples, Italy last weekend.

    The cafe, presents Chengdu-themed performances to guests, quickly attracted local customers curious to try the brand’s unique “Chengdu Flavour” coffee. It also features a number of interactive events, including panda painting, calligraphy, and Chengdu-themed postcard writing.

    “Baby pandas” in the cafe warmly invite all Italians to “drink coffee today in Naples, and in 2021 drink Panda covered-bowl tea in Chengdu”. The activity serves as an invitation to the 31st Summer Universiade, to be hosted in Chengdu. Naples was the previous host of the sports event.

    To promote the opening, a Panda-themed flash mob performed the “Panda Swing Dance” at many famous scenic spots across Naples.

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  • Tea chain Ten Ren Vietnam to close down

    Tea chain Ten Ren Vietnam to close down

    Ten Ren Vietnam will close all of its 23 stores on August 15, local franchise holder Vietnam Coffee Trading Service has announced.

    The company, whose main business is the fast-growing The Coffee House chain, said the current business model does not conform to the needs of the customer. It will close the chain and plan an “appropriate strategy” for the sector.

    The company wants to focus more on its Coffee House brand.

    All employees and partners of the Ten Ren chain will be offered the chance to transfer to The Coffee House.

    Ten Ren entered Vietnam in November 2017 initially planning 40 stores by the end of last year, but has fallen well short of that target. Its primary lines are milk tea and packaged teas.

    Given the brand is operated under a franchise it is likely the Taiwanese parent will seek a new operator for the market

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  • Crimson Cup opens fourth cafe in Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Crimson Cup opens fourth cafe in Dhaka, Bangladesh

    US coffee roaster Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea has opened its fourth international coffee shop in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

    The new Rangs Fortune Square venue joins Crimson Cup Coffee Houses in the Banani and Dhanmondi neighborhoods.

    “Dhanmondi is a huge residential area with a multicultural population,” said MD Mohaimin Mostafa, “and our existing shop in Dhanmondi 27 was not sufficient to keep up with demand. Our second outlet in Dhanmondi makes it much easier for customers to reach us.”

    The brand features a brew bar where baristas hand-pour craft coffees discovered during Crimson Cup’s sourcing trips all over the world.

    After opening four coffee houses since 2015, the Crimson Cup Bangladesh team is continuing its plans for expansion. Managers are looking for locations in Sylhet and Chittagong as well as the resort city of Cox Bazar. They are also exploring development opportunities in India, Nepal and Thailand.

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  • Firs Innisfreet Canada store opens in Toronto

    Firs Innisfreet Canada store opens in Toronto

    Innisfree Canada has chosen Toronto for its first standalone store.

    The South Korean natural cosmetics brand’s new store will cover around 2500sqft of Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre according to designs. It will use a direct-to-consumer retail model designed to meet a competitive marketplace.

    The “plant-to-bottle” brand, operated by Seoul’s Amorepacific Corporation, partnered with CBRE to enter Canada, with initial targets being major mall space in Toronto and Vancouver. Amorepacific currently owns 33 health, beauty and personal brands.

    Innisfree Canada is not alone in targeting the North American nation, with US company Ulta Beauty and French chain Sephora among prominent names in the beauty products industry recently moving in.

    Over the past five years, more than 150 international brands have opened stores in Canada, more than 50 in 2017. Last year more than 30 brands brought a direct-to-consumer retail model to Canada.

  • Australia’s Oporto to open 24 stores in Vietnam

    Australia’s Oporto to open 24 stores in Vietnam

    Restaurant chain Oporto has launched in Vietnam under local franchisee Ben Thanh Group, with plans to open 24 restaurants across the territory in the next 10 years.

    The brand’s CEO Craig Tozer indicated the Vietnamese expansion provides a further gateway to a new market of potential consumers.

    “Vietnam is an ideal market for Oporto with nearly 100 million people and more than 60 per cent in our core demographic of under 35,” said Tozer. “Vietnam is experiencing double-digit growth in the retail and consumer sector and GDP has steadily grown at over 6 per cent. Consumers are urbanising and have an appreciation of quality food.”

    The announcement solidifies Oporto’s international growth strategy and follows a string of global signings. Three international master agreements have been secured in the last 14 months, with Oporto Vietnam following Singapore and Sri Lanka.

    Back home, Oporto is also forecasting an additional 20 plus restaurant openings in Australia for FY20, along with one in Vietnam, a second store in Singapore and further Asian expansion.

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  • Luckin Coffee to launch tea brand Xiaolu

    Luckin Coffee to launch tea brand Xiaolu

    Luckin Coffee, the Chinese cafe startup that has directly taken on Starbucks in the territory, is moving into the takeaway tea market with its new Xiaolu brand.

    “Coffee and tea are the two most popular drinks in the office,” said Luckin VP Jinyi Guo. “However, there are currently few renowned brands of milk tea in China, the quality of franchise stores is inferior, and supply chain management is deficient.”

    The new brand, launched this week, is targeting young Chinese white-collar workers and offers cheese foam tea, fresh tea and milk tea, among others.

    “We want to transform the tea series from traditional tea drinks into creative ones and we hope people drink it in the offices instead of streets,” said the brand’s chief marketing officer Fei Yang.

    Luckin completed its New York IPO this May, raising US$561 million.

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  • Indonesia’s Wake Cup Coffee & Eatery makes Indian debut

    Indonesia’s Wake Cup Coffee & Eatery makes Indian debut

    Indonesian coffee chain Wake Cup Coffee & Eatery has launched in Mumbai.

    The franchise opens in India in partnership with local franchisee Gobble Me Good, its first international location after opening 13 outlets back home.

    The firm is the newest player in India, the world’s 10th fastest-growing coffee market currently valued at ₹2570 crore (US$374 million), according to a recent Euromonitor International report that estimated industry growth at 6.9 per cent a year by 2023.

    “Consumers frequenting cafes in India are primarily 18-35 years old, which comprises the country’s primary working force with higher disposable income and fast-paced lives,” said the

    Large food companies such as local giant ITC are also making moves in coffee retail to compete with the likes of Nestle and Unilever.

  • KFC India to sell 61 another stores

    KFC India to sell 61 another stores

    KFC India will offload 61 equity-owned restaurants to Devyani International as part of its international strategy to withdraw from capital-intensive operations while further developing its brand.

    Devyani, KFC owner Yum!’s biggest franchise partner in the territory, will take over the locations in Karnataka, AP and Telangana, dropping Yum!’s company-operated KFC locations within India to less than 10 per cent. Yum!’s other brand in India, Pizza Hut, is already fully franchised out, and Devyani operates almost 500 outlets under both brands in India.

    “We continue to re-evaluate ownership strategy as part of an annual process and in line with business growth,” said KFC India MD Samir Menon. “The strategic intent is to unlock growth for the brand.”

    “At this point, there is no intent to set up more equity restaurants, unless the market dynamics demand,” he added.

    “KFC is one of the fastest growing brands in our portfolio,” commented Devyani’s CEO Virag Joshi. “Our partnership with Yum! is driven by commitment to build the brand by expanding geographic presence and driving world-class operations.”

    More than 98 per cent of KFC’s 140-country international store network is operated under franchise agreements.

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  • India’s Grofers to convert 200 partner stores into its own brand network

    India’s Grofers to convert 200 partner stores into its own brand network

    Indian online grocer Grofers will convert around 200 service-partner stores into its own offline branded outlets.

    The move is intended to expand Grofers’ business without affecting online sales, and has already been put into effect in around 100 such “kirana” outlets, providing training in point-of-sale, retention and loyalty schemes, among other areas. Plans are also underway to expand the network into southern Indian markets.

    “We have converted several grocery stores into our own branded offline stores,” said Grofers VP and offline business head Yeshu Bansal, “around 100 kirana stores in Delhi-NCR have been a part of this effort that started somewhere in November last year. Our target is to have 200 such stores in the coming few months.”

    The firm is aiming to double sales to ₹5000 crore (US$726.7 million) this financial year and is planning an IPO within three years.

    “Using our forecasting tools and data science, we help the offline stores understand what items are selling more and what should he stock for,” added Bansal. “We are taking our experience and tech to the offline store … We are entering kirana stores in residential areas that has middle and the lower middle class population. The goal is to help the retailer scale up his business by getting more footfalls, and for us, it helps push their homegrown brands (private label products) as well.”

    Grofers partners with more than 6000 stores that deliver groceries to its customers.

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  • Emma dessert opens in Singapore

    Emma dessert opens in Singapore

    Japan’s Emma dessert has opened its first overseas outlet, at Singapore’s Plaza Singapura.

    Located on basement level 2 of the shopping mall, the outlet offers two exclusive products to Singapore – the Boba Taco Softie, and Charcoal Cheese-flavoured Soft Serve – along with its original menu.

    Signature items include Soft Serve with Okinawa Brown Sugar Bubble in Wafer Shell, Soft Serve in Cup with Okinawa Brown Sugar Bubble, Soft Serve in Charcoal Cone.

    Emma opened its first shop in Japan in May 2018, and now has seven outlets in Japan.

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  • Irvins Salted Egg opens store at The Venetian Macao

    Irvins Salted Egg opens store at The Venetian Macao

    Singaporean gourmet snack brand Irvins Salted Egg has opened at The Venetian Macao.

    “This store marks our biggest expansion yet and we are very proud to have such a premium presence in one of the world’s fastest-growing markets,” said Irvins’ founder and CEO Irvin Hasaka Yuga Gunawan. “We look forward to our flagship store in The Venetian Macao to satisfy the snacking needs of all our fans in Macau and China as well as hundreds of other visitors from around the world that visit the integrated resort during their holiday”.

    The brand ranked first among the “Eight Souvenir Snacks from Singapore to Bring Home” list released by the Singapore Tourism Board earlier this year. All of the brand’s products are freshly manufactured in Singapore without added preservatives, including premium duck eggs with a rich red yolk.

    Traditionally the brand has sold products at pop-up stores in airports and shopping centres across Asia. Its stores at Changi Airport used to frequently run out of stock, even with limits imposed on the number of packets customers could purchase. A successful pop-up store traded in Hong Kong’s IFC mall last year, as well.

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  • Taiwan’s 85C Bakery Cafe expands in USA

    Taiwan’s 85C Bakery Cafe expands in USA

    Taiwanese franchise 85C Bakery Cafe is undergoing rapid expansion in the US.

    The firm has branched out from its flagship venue to open more than 60 locations in California, Washington and Texas, with more states expected to follow.

    The self-service bakery concept has around 400 locations in Taiwan and more than 500 in Mainland China. It launched in Australia in 2006 and now has 12 outlets there.

    The concept involves customers selecting from a range of Asian and European pastries with tongs. Its name refers to the brand’s stated optimal coffee temperature – and it is noted for its servings of coffee with sea salt.

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  • Coca-Cola looks at Indian chain Cafe Coffee Day to invest

    Coca-Cola looks at Indian chain Cafe Coffee Day to invest

    Beverages giant Coca-Cola is negotiating the acquisition of a large stake in Indian chain Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) as part of a move to gain traction in the territory against a drop in demand for carbonated drinks.

    Executives expect the deal, if it goes ahead, to hedge risks for the firm by taking advantage of a growing market sector in the territory.

    “The potential stake acquisition is being driven by Coca-Cola’s headquarters in Atlanta and officials from the beverage maker’s global team are engaged in active talks with the Coffee Day management,” said an executive with knowledge of the matter. “It would give Coca-Cola a significant scale in the fast-growing cafe business, compared to aerated soft drinks, which have been slowing down.”

    Coca-Cola has claimed that news of the potential deal is speculative.

    CCD is India’s largest coffee chain, with 1752 locations as of March this year. Starbucks India, by contrast, operates just 146 stores.

    “Cafe Coffee Day introduced India to the café culture back in the 1990s and has been able to build a massive footprint,” commented private equity professional Jaspal Sabharwal, “but the chain badly needs some innovation and facelift. There has been plenty of innovation in the cafe industry in recent years, but not enough of it has come from giant brands. Coca-Cola can play a very good role in this space.”

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