COFFEE BEAN HEADS FOR HAWAII MARKET.Byline: Candice Choi Staff Writer The Coffee Bean coffee bean see sesbania. & Tea Leaf is breaking into the Hawaii market with 15 new stores openings over the next five years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time company announced Friday. Hawaii will be the fourth state Coffee Bean breaks into; the Los Angeles- based company already has a strong presence in California, Nevada and Arizona. The chain also operates stores in countries including China, South Korea, Singapore and Israel for a worldwide total of 315 stores. The first location in Hawaii should open within four months, said Melvin Elias, chief operating officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. of Coffee Been. The Sullivan Family of Companies, which already operates 100 retail stores in Hawaii, will run the coffee shops under a franchise agreement for the state. Hawaii is a natural area for expansion for Coffee Bean because of its sizable tourist population, Elias said. Locals who travel to California and Asian countries like South Korea are already familiar with the Coffee Bean brand, he said. ``Building that local population of customers is going to be key for us,'' Elias said. Starbucks and Gloria Jean are already in the Hawaii market. Peet's Coffee, based in San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden , does not have retail stores in the islands but its products are available in grocery stores, said Kelly Kruger, spokeswoman for Peet's. The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf opened 70 new stores worldwide last year and plans to accelerate that growth to 80 new stores this year. Elias said the bulk of the new stores will be concentrated in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . There are no plans on the horizon to break into any new markets, Elias said. A study by the NPD Group The NPD Group, Inc. is a leading global market research company[1] founded in 1967 and provides consumer and retail information to manufacturers and retailers. Using actual sales data from retailers and distributors as well as consumer-reported purchasing behavior, NPD found the number of coffee shops in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. jumped by 7 percent last year, making it one of the fastest growing segments of the restaurant industry. To keep pace with the new store opening, Coffee Bean will scale up the number of employees at its roasting facilities in Camarillo. The plant currently employs about 100 people, Elias said. Trainers and additional staff will be added at the corporate level as well as to support continuing expansion. Coffee Bean currently employs about 3,000 people nationwide, a figure that includes executives and staff in stores and at roasting facilities. Worldwide, the company employs close to 5,000 people. Candice Choi, (818) 713-3634 candice.choi(at)dailynews.com |
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