Monday, July 28, 2008 Japanese cafe expands to Cebu as more residents pine for brew
AS MORE Cebuanos develop a love for coffee, a Japanese coffee brand has decided to expand to Cebu.
The Ueshima Coffee Co. (UCC) plans to open two new branches—one at the North-wing of SM City Cebu and the other at the expansion area of Ayala Center Cebu—at the end of the third quarter or beginning of the fourth quarter of this year.
“Opening a UCC coffee shop in Cebu has always been part of my plan when I first brought the brand to the Philippines in 1999. I was just waiting for the right moment. Location and market maturity provide an excellent environment for UCC to set foot in Cebu,” said Hubert Young, the exclusive franchise holder of UCC in the country, in an e-mail to Sun.Star Cebu.
Young, son of General Milling Corp. chairman and president George Young, noted that the market in Cebu has embraced the whole coffee drinking and café lifestyle, making the coffee business a thriving industry with still more room for growth.
“That’s (what) UCC coffee (wants) to fill. UCC coffee is coming to Cebu at a perfect time,” he said.
In the Philippines, UCC has 16 coffee shops with three different concepts: Vienna Café, Café Terrace and Park Café.
Vienna Café is designed to give customers the feel of a chic cafe inside a posh hotel. Café Terrace provides for a contemporary country club setting while Park Café is found in park landscapes.
With the same interiors as the Vienna Café but with youthful ambiance, the UCC Coffee Shop is the closest in concept to other popular franchised coffee shops.
In Cebu, UCC will be positioned the same way as its other shops in the country—“a hotel coffee shop outside of a hotel,” which targets upscale coffee drinkers.
“We are an all-day dining place. Apart from the really good coffee, we have excellent selection and great tasting meals, desserts, and other beverages,” Hubert said. “Our shops also provide hotel quality service. In a cozy and chic atmosphere, we give extra attention to the service our discerning market expects and deserves. All these elements (will) set us apart from the other coffee shops in Cebu,” he added.
To ensure that UCC coffee shops are able to fill the market need of an area, Hubert is careful about selecting the location of a future branch.
“As long as there is a market and a good location suitable for UCC, we will consider opening in that area. My franchise agreement with UCC Coffee Japan does not hold any stipulation that I should open this many number of stores per year or period like other exclusive franchise agreements,” Hubert explained. (NRC)
