After the opening of its first store, %Arabica is preparing to open a second store in Ho Chi Minh City. %Arabica is a famous coffee chain in Kyoto (Japan) founded by Mr. Kenneth Shoji in 2014. There are 140 %Arabica stores worldwide.

In Vietnam, the chain aims to expand in Hanoi, Hoi An, and Phu Quoc Island. 

Earlier, Thailand's largest coffee chain Café Amazon entered Vietnam, with 19 stores in the southern region, 15 of which are located in Ho Chi Minh City.

Founded in 2002, Café Amazon has 3,900 stores in Thailand. It plans to open 1,000 stores outside Thailand from now until 2025.

Moving towards the goal of opening the 100th store this year, Starbucks is a coffee chain from the US with 10 years of business in Vietnam. By the end of 2022, Starbucks had 87 stores, mainly in Ho Chi Minh City with 50 shops, followed by Hanoi with 25, and Hai Phong, Hung Yen, Da Nang, and Nha Trang.

The market leader in terms of size and revenue is Highlands Coffee. Initially a Vietnamese coffee chain, Highlands Coffee was acquired by Jollibee Group of the Philippines in 2011.

Highlands Coffee has 609 stores in Vietnam and more than 50 shops in the Philippines.

In 2022, the market was buzzing with the rumor that Jollibee was looking for a partner to sell 10-15% of Highlands Coffee shares. The coffee chain is valued at about 800 million USD.

Having the same owner as Highlands Coffee is The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. The coffee chain has been in Vietnam since 2006. However, the number of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf stores is modest, with 15.

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf was established in 1963 in Los Angeles (USA). In 2019, Jollibee Food Group completed the acquisition of this coffee chain.

According to experts, only Highlands Coffee and Starbucks do business effectively when developing their chains to a large scale. Café Amazon might face difficulties in the early stages in Vietnam. 

Amid declining consumption, the strategy of coffee chains is to temporarily focus on sustainable development in the long run.

At the end of 2022, Highlands Coffee changed its brand logo for the 4th time. The chain once used cars to sell its drinks on the street. It faced scandals owing to retail premise debt and the closure of several business locations.

Like Highlands Coffee, Starbucks closed some stores, including at Rex Hotel (Nguyen Hue Street, District 1, HCMC), Starbucks Press Club (Hanoi) and Starbucks Lan Vien (the first store in Hanoi). Instead of opening stores in prime locations, Starbucks has moved its shops to new urban areas and office buildings.

Some coffee chains are also promoting online sales on online delivery platforms such as ShopeeFood or Grab. Starbucks has opened a booth on e-commerce platforms to sell cups, water bottles and cloth bags.

Café Amazon and %Arabica may hesitate to open more stores although their financial potential is promising. For example, 60% of Café Amazon is owned by PTT Oil and Retail Business (OR) and 40% by retail giant Central Group, both of Thailand.

Despite advantages, not all foreign coffee chains are successful in Vietnam. NYDC - New York Dessert Café, Gloria Jean's Coffees, and Espressamente Illy all had to leave Vietnam because of inefficient business.

Research by the World Coffee Portal predicts that coffee chains in Vietnam will reach more than 5,200 stores by 2025.

Duy Anh