A growing number of local food and beverage operators are striving to operate on a global scale by accelerating store expansions in new markets.
OCOCO International Co Ltd (億可國際飲食), which operates more than 1,800 Coco Fresh Tea & Juice (都可茶飲) outlets worldwide, plans to open its first outlet in the UK in the first quarter next year, OCOCO spokesman Paxon Kuo (郭鑒之) said.
The plan marks OCOCO International’s first step into the European market, following the bubble tea chain’s operations in Asia, North America and Africa.
In addition, OCOCO International has set a target to become a food and beverage group with multiple brands, Kuo said.
The second brand, focusing on middle to high-priced French pastries, is set to launch in Taiwan within the next two years, with an aim to expand to other major global markets as well, Kuo added.
La Kaffa International Co Ltd (六角國際事業), which operates bubble tea chain Chatime (日出茶太) in Taiwan, China, Southeast Asia, Australia and the US, is following suit.
The company currently operates two own brands — Zen Q (仙Q甜品專賣) for Taiwanese iced desserts and drinks, and La Kaffa (六角咖啡) for coffee and light meals — while teaming up with Japan’s ATOM Co to operate the Japanese pork chop restaurant chain, Wagokoro Tonkatsu Anzu (銀座杏子日式豬排), in Taiwan.
La Kaffa, listed on the local Emerging Stock Market (興櫃市場), saw net income in the first six months of the year total NT$50.97 million (US$1.68 million), or NT$2.17 per share, down from NT$76.72 million, or NT$3.27 per share, recorded a year earlier, company statistics showed.
Restaurant chain operator Wowprime Corp (王品集團) has unveiled a plan to become a world-renowned restaurant group, aiming to expand its number of outlets to 1,000 by 2020, and to 10,000 outlets globally by 2030.
The company plans to launch its first US outlet under its barbecue restaurant brand Yakiyan (原燒) in the first quarter of next year, a move to expand its market beyond Asia, in cooperation with US-based Panda Restaurant Group Inc.
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
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