Homegrown coffee shop preparing for IPO entry

CEBU, Philippines - Bo's Coffee Club chain, through its operating entity Coffee Centrale Inc.-The Bean Company, is preparing to enter the capital market to realize its planned international and local expansion.

The company is seeing to complete its preparation to enter into Initial Public Offering  in the next three years, as it has started to talk with consultancy firms and investment bankers, said Bo's Coffee Club president Steve Benitez.

However, even before the company will get monetary resources from the active capital market, Benitez said Bo's aims at growing the number of outlets in the Philippines to at least 100 coffee shops across the country by 2016.

To date, there are 56 Bo's Coffee outlets in the country, Benitez said the company intends to reach 70 branches by the end of this year, with expansion concentration in the Metro Manila and Luzon areas.

Simultaneously, Bo's Coffee is also taking active strides in its international expansion, with focus on penetrating the countries that have good Filipino concentration.

He said the company prefers to ink joint-venture deals with interested businessmen in the countries it hopes to enter. "Locals have good read of their own market place," he said.

While the coffee shop industry is highly dominated by international brands like Starbucks, Benitez said Bo's Coffee is not intimidated of the presence of established coffee shop brands wherever it goes, confident of its brand equity which promotes Philippine brand.

"We really emphasized that Bo's Coffee is a homegrown brand, showcasing Philippine coffee, with global standards," he said.

Established in 1996, in a small stall inside Ayala Center Cebu, now the chain is in the process of giving its stores a stronger Filipino look, using more homegrown coffee beans, and even opening its doors to Filipino-made goods looking for a distribution platform.

He added that the company still has a lot to do to prepare the company for public offering, but reiterated Bo's Coffee Club is going into this direction.

About 75 percent to 80 percent of Bo's Coffee bean requirement is sourced from coffee farmers in the country, such as from Bukidnon, Mountain Province, Sultan Kudarat, and other coffee producing provinces.

The Benitez SD Ventures Holdings owns several subsidiaries aside from the Coffee Centrale Inc.-The Bean Company, these are the Triangle Fort Distribution Inc.- the warehouse and delivery provider for all Bo's Coffee outlets nationwide; Triangle Food Central Corporation-the commissary unit for Bo's servicing its pastries and other food product requirements; Coffee System Franchise Corporation, and Omni Triangle Resources Corporation. (FREEMAN)