Coffeehouse chains are setting up premium outlets selling expensive drinks to meet demand from trendy Korean customers in a saturated coffeehouse market.
Starbucks Korea plans to open an upscale outlet “Starbucks Reserve” in Apgujeong, one of Seoul’s most expensive districts, on March 18 to sell rare coffee with higher prices.
The firm will likely add more premium stores as it did in other countries though a company spokeswoman has not yet provided details of the specifics of the plan.
They provide unique services; Baristas drip coffees individually with a detailed explanation. They serve “single-origin” coffee from all over the world, which are not mixed coffee beans for mass production as most coffee chains provide in their outlets. Single origin coffee is made from beans produced from a specific country.
Starbucks starting launching these stores globally in August 2010 – it is reportedly operating some 500 such stores.
CJ Foodville’s coffee store “A Twosome Place” was also scheduled to open an upscale outlet in Shinsa-dong, on March 7, according to a company official. The store focuses on exclusive desserts and coffees, as well as teas.
“We will provide high-end services in order to keep pace with customers living in an expensive area,” CJ Foodville official Lee Hwa-sun said.
Meanwhile, Tom N Toms Coffee opened a store in Apgujeong in May last year, which also provides single-origin coffee with a vintage-style store design aimed at forming a cozy atmosphere for wealthy customers.
“We decided to open the outlet to meet customers’ demands,” Tom N Toms Coffee CEO Kim Do-kyun said.
Hollys Coffee is running an outlet for single-origin coffee, as well as a themed café in collaboration with a bookstore in Hapjeong, where there are many cafes.
Over the past decade, coffeehouses here have created an environment for rest between meals, providing standardized chain store coffee.
The number of coffeehouses here grew more than six-fold to some 9,400 in 2011 since 2006, according to 2013 report by KB Financial Group. The momentum continued as more people in Korea are drinking more coffee. The Korea Customs Service (KCS) also said Koreans consume 293 cups of coffee per person annually.
Now the coffee stores are facing a hurdle in meeting the demand of coffee enthusiasts amid a saturated coffee market – more Koreans are looking for more premium coffee or services; which include freshly brewed coffee using certified beans with hand-drip service from baristas.
Paul Bassett, a coffee chain operated by the Maeil Dairies started providing such services in September 2009. The firm continued to open new outlets and runs 25 stores as of March. It plans to open 10 new outlets by the end of the year, an official at Maeil Dairies said.
“Of course, premium food outlets are likely to appear as there are more similar stores in the nation. But more importantly, cafés now provide space for social gatherings, which used to take place at home until recently,” said researcher Lee Dong-hun at the Samsung Economic Research Institute.
“‘Dining is a keyword to understand Korean consumers these days. People not only dine together in these luxury stores, but develop social relationships there.”
Source: koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2014/03/123_153000.html
