ARA DAMANSARA, Selangor: Malaysia’s largest white coffee café chain, OLDTOWN White Coffee, has chalked up a historic milestone by reaching a network of 200 stores.
The group is on track to expand its wings with another 20 to 30 more OLDTOWN White Coffee stores in Malaysia within this year, according to Lee Siew Heng, group managing director of OLDTOWN White Coffee.
“The brand OLDTOWN White Coffee has been around for almost 14 years now. Back then, it was tough to convince the licensees to convert into franchise operators but we took a conscious decision of setting up a franchising business. This conviction in the business model has resulted in the company today achieving a significant milestone of 200 stores in Malaysia, and a total
of 224 stores across four countries in the Asian region,” Siew Heng, remarked.
It was first established in Ipoh in 1999., OLDTOWN White Coffee made history when the company became the pioneer white-coffee producer to manufacture and launch the famous Malaysian Ipoh White Coffee as a 3-in-1 coffee instant blend, a staple and all-time favourite in most local households. Currently, all OLDTOWN White Coffee outlets in Peninsular Malaysia have achieved 100% JAKIM Halal recognition and certification this year in its bid to make further inroads into the Halal market. The restaurant chain of OLDTOWN White Coffee made its debut in 2005. And through a successful franchise programme, the group achieved the 200thstore milestone in a short span of just over7 years.
“Being the market leader as the most successful Kopitiam chain with a strong heritage, OLDTOWN White Coffee has always been focused in finding the right strategic allies, dynamic partners and brand developers who have a clear vision for the growth of the business. Led by OLDTOWN White Coffee’s consumer commitment, the brand continuously looks for means and ways to improve their products and introduce new ones to ensure that they cater to the demands of an ever changing market,” said Lee.
“Geared to dominate the Kopitiam market, OLDTOWN White Coffee is restructuring its service orientation by moving towards a self-service concept and launching a new range of set menus that deliver “good times, all day everyday” with value set meals throughout all meal times. They consists of MyBreakfast, MyLunch, MyTea, MyDinner and MySupper set menus which is available every day, even on public holidays at all OLDTOWN White Coffee outlets in Malaysia.”
“Consumers’ expectations are changing and they seek for convenience, comfort, and choices at affordable pricing. As a first step of introducing ‘Aroma of Good Times’ – OLDTOWN White Coffee revamped brand’s direction to our consumers’, we have implemented the self-service concept and the new set menus as a testament to our consumers’ who value Malaysia’s favourite food and drinks in town.”
“In line with the company’s vision of depicting the ‘Aroma of Good Times’, OLDTOWN White Coffee is also revamping all the outlets’ interior by including key design elements that are aligned with the company’s aspirations in providing consumers’ a comfortable and enjoyable experience at all outlets,” he added.
“To keep up in this ever changing industry, OLDTOWN White Coffee will continue to work on its expansion plans in the coming year to expand our regional base. Our plan includes increasing the number of our outlets and to export our instant beverages to a more extensive market. are confident the franchise chain will add 20 to 30 more stores in Malaysia in 2013,” he concluded.