By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
Koreans are certainly getting an extra jolt these days, with coffee shops sprouting across urban areas with jungle-like density. And the number of cafes on the streets won't be dipping anytime soon, with major franchises expecting to spend even more money this year to expand the size of their kingdoms.
CJ Foodville and SPC would each describe the other as a hated rival, as the two companies have been competing ferociously in the markets of bakeries and ice cream chains over the years.
Now, it appears that coffee shops have emerged as the most heated battle field for the two food industry giants.
CJ Foodville was operating just 24 outlets of its Twosome Place coffee franchise at the start of 2009. The company now has 60 and plans to add 70 more outlets this year, which would be enough for Twosome Place to secure its spot as a top-10 coffee chain.
SPC, the operator of Pascucci, is intent on matching the moves of its rival. There are currently 48 Pascucci coffee shops in the country, but SPC expects to see 100 outlets by the end of this year.
``So far, most Pascucci coffee shops have been directly built in the past seven years, but we are now looking to take it a further step into converting the business under a franchise chain system. We are also considering having take-out joints at airports and other venues as well,'' said an SPC executive.
Of course, neither Twosome Place nor Pascucci have a prayer at competing with Starbucks, at least not in the near future. Starbucks Korea, the local unit of the Seattle-based coffee giant, is operating 310 outlets, the most among any major coffee chain with nationwide coverage.
Local franchise Angel-In-Us, which is operated by Lotte, recently edged Hollys, another Korean brand, for second place with 232 outlets, compared to Hollys' 218.
Angel-In-Us certainly has been the quickest riser in the rankings, as the franchise had only 91 outlets at the start of 2009.
Coffee Bean, an American brand, comes in fourth with 188 outlets, followed by Tom N Toms, which has 160 outlets.
The local market for coffee retailers was valued at 1.9 trillion won (about $1.6 billion) in 2008, and sales from the 11 major coffee chains accounted for about 29 percent, or 550 billion won.
Industry watchers estimate the coffee market was worth around 2.3 trillion won in 2009, considering the increase in imported coffee beans and other factors.