Taiwan’s Louisa Coffee launches IPO to kick-start global expansion

Louisa Coffee currently operates 524 stores in Taiwan | Photo credit: Solomon203 CC BY-SA 4.0

Taiwan’s largest coffee chain has launched an IPO amid robust sales and plans to grow its international store footprint.  
 

Founded in 2015, Louisa Coffee currently operates 524 stores in Taiwan, comprising 145 company-owned and 379 franchised locations, as well as four stores in Thailand.  
 

According to reports in Taiwanese media, the value-focused coffee chain is currently pursuing partnerships to open stores in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the US and China. 
 

Despite challenging trading conditions Louisa Coffee has continued to perform well during the pandemic.  
 

In 2020, the coffee chain generated revenues of NT$1.98bn ($71m) and profits of NT$143m ($5m) –representing 15% growth on the NT$124m ($4.5m) earned in 2019. 
 

Louisa Coffee joins the growing number of coffee chains around the world either planning or launching IPOs in 2021, including Thailand’s Café Amazon, Krispy Kreme and Dutch Bros in the US, and Russia’s Podorozhnik.