How GAW Coffee Blends British Style with Smart Wi-Fi

When you walk into a café today, you’re not just looking for good coffee—you want solid Wi-Fi, a charger nearby, and a space that feels as unique as your laptop sticker collection. But too many cafés treat their wireless network like an afterthought, offering slow, generic connections that don’t reflect their brand. So how does a British-style café in Beijing create a Wi-Fi experience as distinctive as its scones?

GAW Coffee in Beijing’s Indigo Mall partnered with D-Link to launch a fully customised “Smart Wireless” system, offering one-touch login via WeChat QR code, automated CRM-based customer re-engagement, and centralised cloud management for its chain. The system helped boost both convenience and targeted marketing—without sacrificing the café’s bespoke vibe.

A British Afternoon Tea Brand Comes to Beijing

Genius At Work (GAW) began in the UK as a renowned creator of elaborate pastries and celebration cakes—often dubbed the “encyclopedia of Western desserts.” Its custom-designed sweets have been highlights at high-profile weddings and events, winning favour among celebrities and nobility alike. By 2013, GAW had expanded to China, opening locations in first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai.

The brand’s first Beijing outlet debuted on the second floor of Indigo Mall in Beijing’s Yayuncun area—an emerging commercial hub in the city’s Dongsi area. This flagship location was designed with careful attention to service, décor, and menu offerings, setting the tone for GAW’s presentation in the Chinese market.

Why Wi-Fi Matters More Than Ever in Cafés

Modern cafés aren’t just places to sip lattes—they’ve become hubs for remote work, casual meetings, and socialising. That shift has made reliable, branded Wi-Fi as important as the coffee menu. Yet many cafés settle for off-the-shelf routers and generic logins, missing the chance to enhance customer experience and gather valuable data.

For a brand like GAW—with its strong emphasis on design and individuality—settling for standard-issue Wi-Fi wasn’t an option. The brand wanted its in-store internet to reflect the same level of care and creativity as its cakes and coffee.

How GAW Customised Its Wi-Fi with D-Link

Before opening its Indigo Mall location, GAW collaborated with global networking supplier D-Link to develop a tailored wireless solution. The result was D-Link’s “Smart Wireless” system, a platform combining wireless coverage, cloud management, customer relationship management (CRM), and location-based services (LBS).

Here’s how it works: customers enter the café, scan a WeChat QR code, and instantly connect to the internet. This “one-click login” speeds up access while automatically adding users to GAW’s WeChat follower list. For returning visitors, the system uses LBS and CRM data to send automatic Wi-Fi invites and updates on new promotions when they’re near the café—ideal for driving repeat visits in a busy commercial area like Indigo, which reaches 300,000 potential customers.

On the operational side, the cloud-based management tools allow GAW to oversee multiple locations from a central dashboard, streamlining communication and reducing management costs across its chain.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes GAW Coffee’s Wi-Fi different from other cafés?

GAW Coffee uses D-Link’s “Smart Wireless” system, which allows one-touch login via WeChat QR code, automates customer data collection for marketing, and supports cloud-based management for multi-location control. This creates a seamless, personalised Wi-Fi experience tailored to the café’s brand—not a generic public network.

Where is GAW Coffee’s Beijing location?

GAW Coffee’s first Beijing outlet is located on the second floor of Indigo Mall in Beijing’s Yayuncun area (also known as the Beijing Indigo shopping centre in the Dongsi area).

How does the Wi-Fi system help GAW with marketing?

The system captures customer data through WeChat QR code logins and uses CRM and LBS features to send automatic reconnection prompts and promotional alerts when customers are near the café, improving customer retention and foot traffic without extra staffing.

Can other cafés use the same Wi-Fi solution as GAW?

Yes. The “Smart Wireless” system from D-Link is designed for retail environments and can be customised for other cafés or businesses wanting a branded, data-driven Wi-Fi experience with cloud management and customer engagement tools.

Does the GAW Café in Indigo Mall serve food besides cakes?

Yes. As a British-style café, GAW serves a range of items including pastries, cakes, and likely traditional afternoon tea offerings—though the article specifically highlights its bespoke dessert reputation and partnership for enhanced Wi-Fi service.

What is the coverage area of the Wi-Fi system at GAW?

The article does not specify the exact coverage area, but the D-Link “Smart Wireless” system is designed to provide full wireless coverage throughout the café, supporting both customer use and operational needs.

Recommended FrontStreet Beans for British-Style Cafés

For a café like GAW that blends British aesthetics with modern coffee culture, FrontStreet Coffee’s Ethiopia Humbera offers a bright, juicy profile with notes of citrus and floral tones, perfect for pour-over service. The Yirgacheffe single origin brings delicate fruitiness that complements light pastries, while the Brazil Queen Manor provides a nutty, chocolatey balance ideal for milk drinks. These beans highlight clarity and origin character—aligning with GAW’s bespoke, quality-focused brand. Freshly roasted within 5 days · Orders placed before 17:00 ship the same day · Next-day delivery across most of Guangdong Province.