Robinsons brews expansion plan for Costa Coffee

MANILA, Philippines - Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. is brewing up an aggressive expansion plan for British coffee brand Costa Coffee in the country.

In an interview following the opening of the second Costa Coffee store in the country yesterday, Costa Coffee Philippines general manager Corinne Milagan said the company is planning to open 70 stores in the country over the next five years.

“70 is still very conservative. We can even do more,” Milagan said.

Robinsons Retail officials declined to disclose the budget they are allocating for the expansion but  said the investment for each store would cost between P50,000 and P80,000 per square meter.

Minimum floor area for each store is 120 square meters, Milagan said.

Robinsons Retail president and chief operating officer Robina Gokongwei-Pe said the company intends to end the year with five Costa Coffee branches.

Aside from the first branch in Eastwood City and the newly-opened one in Robinsons Manila, Gokongwei-Pe said three more branches would open within the year in Bonifacio Global City, Quezon City, and Robinsons Place Antipolo.

“Filipinos are beginning to appreciate specialty coffee because of the emerging middle class and their exposure to travelling a lot,” she said.

Robinsons Retail announced in September last year that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Robinsons Gourmet Food and Beverage Inc., inked an international distribution agreement for the supply of Costa Coffee beans and operations of Costa Coffee shops in the Philippines.

Costa Coffee is currently the number one coffee chain in the United Kingdom, Costa Coffee International managing director Christopher Rogers said.

With the planned five-year expansion program in the Philippines, Costa Cofffee aims to be the second largest coffee chain in the country after coffee giant Starbucks.

“It’s not about being bigger than Starbucks. It’s about the products and value proposition we offer,” Rogers said.

To date, Costa Coffee has more than 2,900 stores globally across 30 countries, covering operations in Europe, Russia, the Middle East, North Africa, India, China and Southeast Asia.