Coffee chain giant Costa accelerates market layout in Sichuan and Chongqing

Every reporter Jing Yinchan was sent from Chongqing.

PaulSmith, Asia director of British brand Costa, one of the five largest coffee chains in the world, said at the celebration ceremony of 10 stores in Sichuan and Chongqing that Costa will continue to strengthen its investment in the Chinese market and focus on ploughing western cities such as Sichuan and Chongqing. A reporter from the Daily Business News learned that coffee chains including Starbucks, Lavazza and Pacific Coffee have also drawn up expansion plans in western China.

Analysts believe that in the context of the new round of industrial transfer, the western region has not only become a new manufacturing base for multinational enterprises, but also a blue ocean for large high-end service enterprises.

International coffee chain giant marches westward

To open up the western market, the international coffee chain Starbucks plays the role of "the first crab eater". As early as 2005, it was the first to open its first store in Chengdu.

A reporter from the Daily Business News learned that Starbucks has expanded to more than 30 stores in Chengdu and Chongqing alone, which is just a microcosm of the westward advance of the international coffee giant.

"British coffee giant Costa opened the western market in 2011, laying out in Chongqing and Chengdu, five years after it entered the Chinese market." A source from Costa told the Daily Business News that Costa currently has six stores in Chongqing and one in Chengdu.

According to the Chongqing Business Daily, Sun Zhenyu, director of Costa South China, said at the celebration ceremony of Costa's Sichuan-Chongqing 10 stores a few days ago that Costa plans to speed up horse racing enclosures with more than 50 stores in Sichuan and Chongqing in the next three years. In this regard, the above-mentioned people said that Costa is very optimistic about the western Chinese market and will continue to strengthen its market share in the western region.

In August, Pacific Coffee, one of Hong Kong's largest coffee chains, also opened its first store in Jiefangbei, Chongqing, and plans to expand the number of stores to five this year. Prior to that, it already had three stores in the Chengdu market.

In addition, Lavazza, a century-old Italian coffee shop, also has plans for the western market. In 2010, Lavazza opened its first store in Jiefangbei pedestrian Street in Chongqing, and in August this year, Lavazza entered Tianjie Street in Beicheng, Chongqing.

The west is becoming a "blue ocean" of high-end service industry.

In addition to attracting international coffee giants to accelerate the enclosure, the charm of western cities such as Chengdu and Chongqing also makes 85-degree C and other western food and beverage unstoppable. According to statistics, since entering the Chengdu market last year, the number of 85C stores in Chengdu and Chongqing has reached about 10.

There are signs that western cities are being favored by high-end services.

"whether it is a chain coffee giant, or 85 degrees C and other western food and beverage, its accelerated entry into Chongqing and Chengdu markets are concentrated around 2011." Wu Haidong, a professor at the Chongqing Academy of Social Sciences, said that this time is quite special and coincides with a critical period for the transfer of domestic industries from the coast to the interior.

As Foxconn, Acer, Hewlett-Packard, Samsung and other electronics manufacturing industries have moved their industrial centers to western cities such as Chengdu, Chongqing and Xi'an, the western region is developing into a new manufacturing base. According to official data, nearly half of the world's top 500 enterprises have settled in Chengdu alone.

"in recent years, similar actions have been performed frequently in western cities, and the new manufacturing base is bound to bring a huge demand for high-quality labor, thus increasing the attractiveness of high-end services." Wu Haidong said.

In fact, executives of companies such as 85C, Pacific Coffee and Costa have said they are optimistic about the consumption potential of the western market, which is why they are focused on ploughing the west.

"at present, the first-tier cities such as Shanghai and Shenzhen have become saturated in the market for chain coffee and West Point, while the western cities represented by Chengdu and Chongqing still have a lot of room for development in this regard, and they are still a blue sea." The above-mentioned Costa company related person said.

In addition, the high-end service giants have rushed to Chengdu, Chongqing and other western markets, which has something to do with local policies. It is understood that in recent years, Chengdu has successively formulated and issued a series of policies to create a high-end service carrier; Chongqing has also proposed to create an urban modern service function expansion area in the construction of the western new town to promote the development of the high-end service industry.

"judging from the current overall economic situation, it is expected that the western region will become the region with the fastest economic growth in the country in 2012, and the trend of high-end service industries competing for the western market will become more and more intense." Wu Haidong said.

(responsible Editor: Leo)