Australian coffee franchise Gloria Jean’s Coffee has opened its first stores in Moscow and Qatar as it continues its push into the Middle East and targets the fast-growing Eastern European market.
The openings in Moscow and central Qatar take the Gloria Jean’s international footprint as of July to 32 master franchise agreements in 31 countries and 899 stores worldwide.
Executive chairman Nabi Saleh said in a statement that the new markets are part of a wider push from the company to establish a foothold in two regions with significant retail growth potential.
The Russian expansion adds to the company’s Eastern European network, which already includes Hungary and Ukraine. Poland has been earmarked as the next target.
“We plan to open two stores in Moscow within the first year and 23 stores throughout Russia in the first five years of operation,” Saleh said. “This opening represents some big growth to come in Eastern Europe.”
As well as its new Qatar store, the company has 43 stores in the UAE, Kuwait and Jordan and has nominated Egypt and Saudi Arabia as potential markets to hit in the next year.
Gloria Jean’s optimism is in stark contrast to the situation at Starbucks, which is planning to close 600 stores, with 12,000 workers affected.
But the coffee giant, which blamed the faltering US economy and a drop in retail spending for its cuts, has been inundated with passionate pleas from customers desperate to keep their local store open. Protest fliers have been handed out and some stores and online petitions have been started by other angry customers.
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