Saturday, May 10, 2008 Internet café chain eyes expansion with 20 new branches in 2008
AN Internet café chain, owned by a British and Filipino partnership, wants to open 20 new branches this year.
This, after opening its fifth branch in Cebu and 10th outlet in Asia.
Yeeha! Internetan opened its newest branch in Barangay Banilad, Cebu City yesterday, which is also the third outlet in the
city.
Yeeha is open to franchising arrangements with interested individuals and companies, even those with existing Internet cafés.
Yeeha! Internetan president Wayne Schofield said the company strives to be different in the area of franchising “to help Filipino businessmen succeed.”
“While other big franchise companies charge huge amounts of money every month plus a percentage of the net income, we don’t, (except for) a couple of hundred pesos per computer per month, but that’s it,” he said in an interview with Sun.Star Cebu.
“(We provide our franchisees) free technical support, free technical visits, business back-up—like online tools to give managers comprehensive communication system, which allow them to communicate with other Yeeha! branches (in the world) (and get insights on) solving problems,” he said.
The company offers franchise packages for new investors and for those who have existing but struggling Internet cafés.
Schofield said Yeeha! has the advantage of having competent staff, good customer service and clean surroundings in all branches.
This advantage makes opening a Yeeha! franchise financially rewarding.
Schofield cited a competing café in Dalaguete, which sought Yeeha’s help. When the café was converted into Yeeha! Express, it began earning P1,000 to P3,000 a day from its previous profit of P400 a day.
He assured that user experience at Yeeha! is “very nice, bright, and clean,” compared to other cafes “where nobody greets you or help you.”
“Yeeha! Internatan is very much on customer service. It’s about respecting people,” he said. “We, Internet café owners, should appreciate that the children (who are our customers) and their parents probably worked very hard for the little money they have,” he added.
Schofield stressed that all Yeeha! branches use genuine Microsoft software.
Using illegal or unlicensed software, he said, is tantamount to cheating customers “by making them pay for good software but letting them use a bad one.”
All Yeeha! franchises, he said, use of Microsoft software to provide users the best tools for their needs and ensure value for their money.
The Yeeha! branch in Banilad is owned and managed by Wahinee Lim. Other Yeeha! Internetan branches in Cebu City are found in Barangays Basak-Pardo and Pasil.
The company also has two branches in Dalaguete, Cebu and two more in Hong Kong. It also has outlets in Thailand, Vietnam, Korea and India.
The monthly revenues of the branches depend on location. Yeeha! in Basak-Pardo posted a net income of P40,000 to P50,000 a month while that in Dalaguete earned about P15,000 to P25,000 a month.
Yeeha! cafés offer various freebies to customers, including popcorn and coffee, as well as free use of webcam, one hour free with 20 hours of use, two hours free for birthday celebrants and discounts. (NRC)
