It may seem that there’s a coffee shop on every corner of The Dubai Mall. But the German brand Tchibo is hoping that its quirky European blend of coffee and an array of consumer goods will enable it to muscle into the competitive UAE market.
The family-owned company opened its first Middle Eastern coffee shop and shop on the lower ground floor of the mega- mall last Tuesday. Tchibo is banking on the brand’s popularity with European expats and its range of cheap clothes and electronic gadgets to win business away from the likes of Starbucks, Costa and Tim Hortons.
Tchibo, which is operated in the GCC through its official franchise, Brands for Less Group (BFL), said that it planned to use the Dubai Mall store as a springboard to open more branches formatted as coffee shops with stores across the Middle East.
The brand owns and operates eight Tchibo shops around the UAE, but none of its coffee shop formats that have proved popular in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and eastern Europe.
“The Tchibo model has been instrumental in building buzz around the stores across Europe, drawing in customers to its doors to enjoy their coffee and enjoy their shopping experience,” said Toufic Kreidieh, the chief executive of BFL Group.
“We identified a need for our Tchibo Coffee Shop concept here and we are committed to expand further, with plans to open more stores across the GCC and the region,” he added.
Tchibo entered the UK market in 2000 with plans to open 500 shops. However, after a period of expansion, in 2009 Tchibo announced it was putting the leases of its 51 stores up for sale and pulling out of the country.
At the time the firm cited the deteriorating economic climate. But others criticised the coffee shop and store model for its confusing nature, which many UK consumers considered little more than a “glorified Poundshop”.
lbarnard@thenational.ae
Follow The National's Business section on Twitter