Bangchak to expand Inthanin coffee shop branches in Laos
Bangchak plans to take its Inthanin coffee shops to foreign countries, aiming to expand in Laos and targeting 1,200 shops in five years.
Somchai Techavanich, chief marketing officer and vice president of marketing at Bangchak Corporation Plc, recently revealed that Bangchak plans more Inthanin coffee shops overseas, especially in Laos, where there is currently only one branch operating as Master Franchise. He said there is an opportunity to expand to 3-5 branches but the market and consumer behaviour needed to be assessed, including the pandemic situation.
In Cambodia, there are currently seven Inthanin coffee shops, which have also been affected by the Covid-19 outbreak, especially those located in department stores, which have been temporarily closed. Additional marketing activities would have to wait for the Covid-19 situation to ease first, he said.
In early 2018, the Master Franchise Inthanin Coffee Shop agreement in Cambodia and Laos was signed by Bangchak Retail Co Ltd and RCG Retail (Cambodia) Co Ltd. Previously, Bangchak had set a goal to open more than 100 Inthanin coffee shops in both countries.
The Inthanin Coffee business in Thailand has adapted well to market conditions, especially during the Covid-19 epidemic in March-April 2020 when it turned to selling more through online channel, making it possible to maintain sales, said Somchai.
Bangchak aims to expand Inthanin coffee to 1,200 branches within five years (2021-25). At the end of 2020, there were 690 branches. In the future, Somchai also intended to study opportunities to enter the upstream coffee business when it can expand to 1,000 Inthanin coffee shops.