LA-based coffee shop announces plans to franchise 100 New York locations and grow US presence to 1,000 stores within 5-10 years
The new sites will begin opening in Manhattan this year with franchise partner Hudson River Coffee & Tea. The openings mark the coffee shop’s relaunch in New York nearly two years after it closed 12 locations in the city due to a franchisee dispute.
President and Chief executive of the coffee shop chain, John Fuller, said in a press statement he wanted to increase the coffee shop's US presence, adding that he wanted the chain to become a “national brand.”
“We are going to aggressively franchise the rest of the United States. It’s an opportunity for us to gain penetration into the US market”, he said.
Founded in Los Angeles in 1963, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf has around 1,200 stores globally, of which the majority are located across the Middle East and Asia Pacific, with just 311 sites in the US.
The announcement comes amid speculation the US coffee shop market has reached saturation point after Starbucks announced the closure of 150 stores and sluggish growth in its native country.
Given the current trading climate in the US, Allegra believes The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf’s ambitious goal to reach 1,000 stores in 5-10 years will be a significant challenge.