Malaysian based food and beverage company Tealive plans to open 10 corporate stores in China this year before franchising the business in the country.
After going into a joint venture with Zhejiang Boduo International Trade and Shanghai Panfei International Trade last year, Tealive owner Loob Holding aims to set up 500 Tealive outlets in China within 3 years.
“In China, where the investments are high, we would like to keep it as an asset light model, where we will franchise most of our stores,” Loob Holding founder Bryan Loo said as quoted by The Star.
“But before we franchise the business (based on our learning experience in Malaysia), we will set up our corporate stores here. We will first set up 10 corporate stores to test and prove the model, and then only, we explore to franchise to local entrepreneurs in China in order to get to the goal of 500 Tealive stores within three years,” he added.
Tealive opened its first store in Shanghai and China last November. The opening marks the fourth overseas market the company has expanded into, with the other three being India, Australia and Vietnam.
The group’s second flagship Tealive outlet in China is expected to open in Hangzhou in two months time. Loob Holding currently operates about 220 Tealive outlets in Malaysia, six in Vietnam and two in Australia.
