MILAN, Sept. 23 (Class Editori) -- Turin-based coffee producer Lavazza decided to accelerate its expansion in China through the JV with Yum China. In last July, the brand opened its first huge flagship store in Shanghai, followed by other 21 as of August 31 in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Beijing and Guangzhou.
The firm's management expects to more than double cafés by the end of the year, but the long-term strategy is even more ambitious. In fact, the JV aims to open 1,000 Lavazza stores in China by 2025 with an initial investment worth at least 200 million dollars.
Moreover, the JV is likely to become Lavazza's exclusive supplier in Mainland China by introducing new products of the brand's international portfolio. The partnership will also enhance the resources needed to improve efficiency in store operativity, branding and marketing terms.
"The recent progress of Lavazza cafés in China has been encouraging and reaffirms our belief that our partnership is well positioned to capture the significant coffee opportunity in China with accelerated store network development. We look forward to what the future has in store for this iconic Italian brand," Joey Wat, CEO of Yum China, pointed out.
"By taking advantage of Yum China's excellent supply chain, digital capabilities and deep knowledge of Chinese consumers, we will be proud to bring Lavazza's authentic Italian coffee experience and premium products to a larger number of consumers in China".
In early 2020, Yum China, the country's largest restaurant chain as for total sales in 2020, and the Italian Group formed a new company, with stakes of 65% and 35% respectively, to explore and develop Lavazza's café concept in China.
"The coffee sector has enormous potential and there are vast areas still unexplored in the PRC. Yum China is the country's largest food service operator, and we consider Lavazza the perfect premium brand to help Yum China to realize its ambitions in the coffee sector, thanks to our outstanding product quality and extensive experience, acquired over more than 126 years," Antonio Baravalle, CEO of Lavazza Group, explained.
"The strengths brought by both partners provide a solid basis for the success of our joint venture, and we are excited to work with Yum China with the aim of converting Lavazza into a leading coffee brand in China".
The next stage in the expansion of Lavazza in China will be to boost the presence of cafés in the main cities through different types of stores in order to offer an increasingly wide range of consumption opportunities.
(Source:Class Editori)
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