South Korea’s Ediya Coffee appoints new CEO, Lee Seok-jang

Ediya Coffee has opened approximately 500 stores since the start of 2020 | Photo credit: via Shutterstock

Ediya Coffee has appointed Lee Seok-jang as its new CEO, with the former Deloitte Consulting Vice President targeting further domestic growth and potential new markets internationally. 
 

The appointment comes amid a management restructure at Ediya Coffee, with Seok-jang set to work alongside company chairman Moon Chang-ki.  

"Ediya Coffee owns the largest number of franchises in the country. At the same time, it is the pride of the Korean coffee industry. I will work hard as the new CEO to make the company a cherished coffee franchise brand across the world. I will do my best to realise the company's future goals by strengthening its competitiveness in the market by discovering new growth engines, while sticking to the company's philosophy of prioritising the customer and the quality of its coffee products," said Seok-jang.  

Ediya Coffee opened its first store in South Korea in 2001 and last year opened its 3,500th outlet.  

In 2020, the company opened its own production facility, the Ediya Dream Factory, which it said would publicise the status of the Korean coffee industry both domestically and around the world. 

South Korea is East Asia’s largest market, achieving impressive outlet growth of 8.3% during the first year of the pandemic. Ediya Coffee opened approximately 500 stores since the start of 2020.  

More than half of Ediya outlets offer beverage delivery. At the end of 2020, the chain reported a 612% year-on-year increase in delivery orders. Pre-pandemic, Ediya reported it had exceeded four million users on its Ediya Members app, which offers digital ordering, loyalty points and sales promotions.  

The South Korean coffee shop market is highly competitive, with Ediya Coffee vying with Starbucks’ circa 1,400 stores, and fellow domestic giants A Twosome Place and Mega Coffee, which both operate more than 1,000 stores each.