BANGALORE: Homegrown coffee conglomerate Amalgamated Bean Coffee Trading Company (ABCTL) gave a boost to its international retail ambitions by snapping up the Czech Republic-headquartered Cafe Emporio for Rs 15 crore.
Cafe Emporio was originally managed as a subsidiary under Czech company Orea Hotels. In 2006, the 20-24 outlet chain was taken over by private equity firm Cimex Invest. However, Cimex shut down half the cafes due to poor profitability. Cafe Emporio, which has seven outlets are in Prague, also operates two formats including a pure-play cafe as well as a lounge.
ABCTL’s retail arm, Cafe Coffee Day, is targeting 50 overseas outlets in the next 2-3 years. The takeover of Cafe Emporio will help CCD add to its outlets in Vienna, Austria. CCD owns four outlets in Vienna which has served as a gateway for its entry into Eastern Europe. It also has two franchise-operated outlets in Pakistan but the contribution of the overseas business to the group’s turnover is negligible at this point.
“We are focused on increasing our footprint across the central and eastern European region both organically and inorganically as the business requires scale. We wanted to enter this region before the market got crowded,” Shweta Shetty, president, international business for Cafe Coffee Day told ET.
By taking over regional coffee retail outlets or cafes in this emerging market, CCD expects to reduce its time to market in these countries.
Tags:Cafe Emporio, Cafe Coffee Day, CCD, franchise operated outlets, coffee retail outlets, cafe business, cafe franchise, cafe opportunities,best cafe,
No comments:
Post a Comment