24th December 2008
The Coffee Republic franchise announced recently that is expecting to have a network of 200 outlets by the end of the year. With the company’s first franchisee, Henry Runganaikaloo, now celebrating the third anniversary of his first Coffee Republic outlet, the brand is continuing to expand both in the UK and abroad.
Henry Runganaikaloo commented, “I am proud of leading the way for franchisees and being able to demonstrate what the Coffee Republic culture is all about. I am passionate about CR and have seen the brand growing stronger and stronger both nationally and internationally.”
Three new outlets have recently opened their doors to the public: Andrew Bowen has opened his third Coffee Republic Bar in Abingdon, Oxfordshire; franchisee, Andy Fernandez, is celebrating the opening of his first outlet in Liverpool and Mark Christie has opened his fourth Bulgarian Bar in the town of Stara Zagora.
Source: http://www.franchisekey.com/franchise-franchising/Article/ID/52/Session/1-pSpF5i47-0-IP/guidObject/016977-20081216-134822-01/Coffee_Republic_200_outlets_in_just_over_three_years.htm
New CR Deli set for Holborn... before Christmas!
24th Dec 2008
We are conveniently situated on Grays Inn Road 5 minutes walk from Chancery Lane Tube Station. This is the first store for franchisees Elias Solomou and Melanie Pearson, who are looking forward to welcoming you to their spacious coffee bar.
Source: http://www.coffeerepublic.co.uk/news-article-just-arrived.php?id=56
We are conveniently situated on Grays Inn Road 5 minutes walk from Chancery Lane Tube Station. This is the first store for franchisees Elias Solomou and Melanie Pearson, who are looking forward to welcoming you to their spacious coffee bar.
Source: http://www.coffeerepublic.co.uk/news-article-just-arrived.php?id=56
Coffee Republic Brews Up RFID Loyalty Cards
The British coffee chain is issuing NFC-enabled smart cards, provided by sQuid, that customers can use to pay for food and drink, as well as earn discounts.
By Claire Swedberg
Source: http://www.rfidjournal.com
Dec. 17, 2008—British coffee house chain Coffee Republic is employing a Near Field Communications (NFC) contactless loyalty card system from sQuid to reduce lines and gain customer loyalty at three of its London locations.
Coffee Republic operates approximately 200 coffee shops, most within the United Kingdom. The restaurants sell coffee and other beverages, as well as snacks and sandwiches. Customers typically pay by cash or credit card, but the payment process is time-consuming, says Coffee Republic's general manager, Aruna Withane.
"One of the problems we've had in our shops," Withane says, "is that if you walk into the shop and take time to order and pay for the transaction, the wait can be long." Most customers don't carry small change, he notes, and have to pay for their food—such as a cup of coffee that costs £2 ($3)—with large bills, or via credit card.
Not only is that system time-consuming, it can also be expensive, says Adam Smith, sQuid's managing director. A business pays a fee to credit card companies for each credit card transaction, he explains, as well as a fee to its bank when money received from cash transactions is deposited into its bank account, and the labor time spent counting and depositing the cash at the end of each day.
In early 2008, Coffee Republic joined forces with Barclays Bank to provide the Barclaycard, a contactless credit card similar to the Oyster Card used by the Transport for London for train rides. Users apply for the Barclays credit account, then utilize the card at a contactless terminal wired to the point-of-sale (POS) system at many of Coffee Republic's London restaurants, as well as at other participating retailers. Withane indicates his company will continue to use the system, and promote it in the stores, though it found that the system held shortcomings for some of its customers.
Coffee Republic has a policy of generating repeat customers by offering loyalty programs. For every £20 ($31) spent at one of its stores, a customer gains a free £2 purchase at one of the chain's locations. According to Withane, the company sought a way to provide that loyalty service—which is impossible with the Barclaycard—and also speed the POS transactions.
The result is the sQuid payment and loyalty card designed specifically for Coffee Republic. This card was introduced in three London-area coffee houses on Dec. 5. Similar to the Oyster card, as well as contactless MasterCard and Visa credit cards issued by Barclaycard and other banks, the sQuid card contains a contactless NFC 13.56 MHz Mifare chip that stores a unique ID number. When acquiring a sQuid card, a customer provides such personal data as his or her name, gender and age, as well as an e-mail address, which is loaded into the sQuid database and linked to the card's unique ID number. The customer can then load the card with money, either at one of Coffee Republics' participating stores (by paying with cash or drawing money off a credit card), or online (using a credit card).
Once the sQuid card is loaded, the customer can use that card's prepaid balance to make a purchase by tapping it against a sQuid terminal, which reads the card's ID number and transmits that data to the sQuid database. There, the ID number is linked to information regarding the cardholder's account, including the balance and the amount spent at Coffee Republic, in the sQuid back-end system. The system is designed to automatically alert both the customer and the vendor with a visual message on the terminal display whenever that patron has spent £20, then offer a £2 discount off the customer's next purchase.
Currently, Withane says, the company is issuing 1,500 cards to customers in three London restaurants—a large shop at Bluewater Shopping Centre, an upscale shopping mall; a medium-sized store with more seating available, often used by business people working in the vicinity of Broadgate, a business area of the city; and, at the Canary Wharf business and shopping district, a small "grab and go" restaurant with limited seating. The objective, according to Withane, is to determine how well the card is received at these different restaurant formats and sizes, and then to base expansion plans accordingly.
"There's been a huge media push for contactless payment cards in London," Withane says, adding that as a result, London consumers are generally enthusiastic about the cards. "They walk in, top up the card and get started right away." After a week of the sQuid service, he says, customer interest has been high in all three stores—though in smaller towns, he expects customers would be slower to adopt the technology. After Coffee Republic evaluates the sQuid program's success at the three current locations, the company will determine if and how the system should be deployed throughout the rest of its stores.
The system can be utilized on existing NFC POS terminals used for MasterCard and Visa contactless cards, Withane says. For the pilot, however, the sQuid cards are employing separate terminals to better track the number of times they are used.
The third benefit for Coffee Republic, in addition to shorter wait times at the sales counter and increased consumer loyalty, is the ability the service provides the company to access its customers by demographic, or in general. For example, although all personal customer data resides on sQuid's database, the company can access anonymous demographic data, such as the ages or genders of customers at any particular location or time. It can also instruct sQuid to send, for instance, a thank-you message to all of its patrons via e-mail, offering them a free coffee or other promotion.
According to Smith, the sQuid system costs a merchant, at maximum, a 1.5 percent fee for each purchase. That's about the same price a merchant pays for a credit card transaction, Withane says.
"The food-and-beverage industry can't negotiate cheaper rates [for credit card transactions], as we do small volumes of low-ticket transactions," Withane says. The sQuid system, he indicates, still saves Coffee Republic money. "We must remember that they administer the payment system along with the loyalty system," he notes, "so it's a heavier workload for a similar remuneration."
What's more, Withane adds, sQuid has become more attractive as consumers are steering away from their credit cards due to economic problems. As an alternative to the card, shoppers feel they have greater control over expenditures since they come out of a prepaid account. The smart card also makes it possible for those who have gone beyond their credit card limit to pay for purchases.
By Claire Swedberg
Source: http://www.rfidjournal.com
Dec. 17, 2008—British coffee house chain Coffee Republic is employing a Near Field Communications (NFC) contactless loyalty card system from sQuid to reduce lines and gain customer loyalty at three of its London locations.
Coffee Republic operates approximately 200 coffee shops, most within the United Kingdom. The restaurants sell coffee and other beverages, as well as snacks and sandwiches. Customers typically pay by cash or credit card, but the payment process is time-consuming, says Coffee Republic's general manager, Aruna Withane.
"One of the problems we've had in our shops," Withane says, "is that if you walk into the shop and take time to order and pay for the transaction, the wait can be long." Most customers don't carry small change, he notes, and have to pay for their food—such as a cup of coffee that costs £2 ($3)—with large bills, or via credit card.
Not only is that system time-consuming, it can also be expensive, says Adam Smith, sQuid's managing director. A business pays a fee to credit card companies for each credit card transaction, he explains, as well as a fee to its bank when money received from cash transactions is deposited into its bank account, and the labor time spent counting and depositing the cash at the end of each day.
In early 2008, Coffee Republic joined forces with Barclays Bank to provide the Barclaycard, a contactless credit card similar to the Oyster Card used by the Transport for London for train rides. Users apply for the Barclays credit account, then utilize the card at a contactless terminal wired to the point-of-sale (POS) system at many of Coffee Republic's London restaurants, as well as at other participating retailers. Withane indicates his company will continue to use the system, and promote it in the stores, though it found that the system held shortcomings for some of its customers.
Coffee Republic has a policy of generating repeat customers by offering loyalty programs. For every £20 ($31) spent at one of its stores, a customer gains a free £2 purchase at one of the chain's locations. According to Withane, the company sought a way to provide that loyalty service—which is impossible with the Barclaycard—and also speed the POS transactions.
The result is the sQuid payment and loyalty card designed specifically for Coffee Republic. This card was introduced in three London-area coffee houses on Dec. 5. Similar to the Oyster card, as well as contactless MasterCard and Visa credit cards issued by Barclaycard and other banks, the sQuid card contains a contactless NFC 13.56 MHz Mifare chip that stores a unique ID number. When acquiring a sQuid card, a customer provides such personal data as his or her name, gender and age, as well as an e-mail address, which is loaded into the sQuid database and linked to the card's unique ID number. The customer can then load the card with money, either at one of Coffee Republics' participating stores (by paying with cash or drawing money off a credit card), or online (using a credit card).
Once the sQuid card is loaded, the customer can use that card's prepaid balance to make a purchase by tapping it against a sQuid terminal, which reads the card's ID number and transmits that data to the sQuid database. There, the ID number is linked to information regarding the cardholder's account, including the balance and the amount spent at Coffee Republic, in the sQuid back-end system. The system is designed to automatically alert both the customer and the vendor with a visual message on the terminal display whenever that patron has spent £20, then offer a £2 discount off the customer's next purchase.
Currently, Withane says, the company is issuing 1,500 cards to customers in three London restaurants—a large shop at Bluewater Shopping Centre, an upscale shopping mall; a medium-sized store with more seating available, often used by business people working in the vicinity of Broadgate, a business area of the city; and, at the Canary Wharf business and shopping district, a small "grab and go" restaurant with limited seating. The objective, according to Withane, is to determine how well the card is received at these different restaurant formats and sizes, and then to base expansion plans accordingly.
"There's been a huge media push for contactless payment cards in London," Withane says, adding that as a result, London consumers are generally enthusiastic about the cards. "They walk in, top up the card and get started right away." After a week of the sQuid service, he says, customer interest has been high in all three stores—though in smaller towns, he expects customers would be slower to adopt the technology. After Coffee Republic evaluates the sQuid program's success at the three current locations, the company will determine if and how the system should be deployed throughout the rest of its stores.
The system can be utilized on existing NFC POS terminals used for MasterCard and Visa contactless cards, Withane says. For the pilot, however, the sQuid cards are employing separate terminals to better track the number of times they are used.
The third benefit for Coffee Republic, in addition to shorter wait times at the sales counter and increased consumer loyalty, is the ability the service provides the company to access its customers by demographic, or in general. For example, although all personal customer data resides on sQuid's database, the company can access anonymous demographic data, such as the ages or genders of customers at any particular location or time. It can also instruct sQuid to send, for instance, a thank-you message to all of its patrons via e-mail, offering them a free coffee or other promotion.
According to Smith, the sQuid system costs a merchant, at maximum, a 1.5 percent fee for each purchase. That's about the same price a merchant pays for a credit card transaction, Withane says.
"The food-and-beverage industry can't negotiate cheaper rates [for credit card transactions], as we do small volumes of low-ticket transactions," Withane says. The sQuid system, he indicates, still saves Coffee Republic money. "We must remember that they administer the payment system along with the loyalty system," he notes, "so it's a heavier workload for a similar remuneration."
What's more, Withane adds, sQuid has become more attractive as consumers are steering away from their credit cards due to economic problems. As an alternative to the card, shoppers feel they have greater control over expenditures since they come out of a prepaid account. The smart card also makes it possible for those who have gone beyond their credit card limit to pay for purchases.
Coffee Republic launch new website!
3rd December 2008
Coffee Republic Plc have launched a new, cutting-edge website replacing the older, rather tired looking version. The new website is attributed to the hard work of Coffee Republic's IT Manager Ian McKelvie.
Click here to view the new website or visit www.coffeerepublic.co.uk
Coffee Republic Plc have launched a new, cutting-edge website replacing the older, rather tired looking version. The new website is attributed to the hard work of Coffee Republic's IT Manager Ian McKelvie.
Click here to view the new website or visit www.coffeerepublic.co.uk
Interim Results for period ended 28 September 2008
Coffee Republic plc
3 December 2008
INTERIM RESULTS FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 28 SEPTEMBER 2008
CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER'S STATEMENT
When Stephen Bartlett and I joined the Board two years ago we said that we wanted Coffee Republic to be free of bank borrowings. At that time, bank borrowings amounted to ₤3.3m. We progressively reduced those borrowings to ₤1.5m at the end of this half year (28 September). As of yesterday (Tuesday 2 December) I'm pleased to be able to say the company became free of bank debt.
This position was arrived at following agreement with our bank for the elimination of our borrowings provided they were paid a reduced amount promptly. With the benefit of a share placing and the approval of resolutions at an Extraordinary General Meeting on 1 December the Company has complied with the terms of the agreement and hence has now redeemed in full its bank obligations. The placing comprised 2,272,665 ordinary shares at 30 pence each which amounted to £681,799.50.
Stephen and I both through related parties participated in the placing and (with connected parties) now own 30.37%. This has been cleared by the Takeover Panel and was ratified at an EGM on Tuesday 2 December.
The repayment results in the elimination of interest and charges approaching ₤200,000 a year and that effect, combined with a steadily improving trading position across the broad portfolio, gives me confidence that the Company is likely to be operationally cash flow positive, and may indeed be earnings positive, by the end of the current financial year - I believe for the first time in the Company's history.
For the six months ended 28 September 2008, the loss reported on an IFRS basis was ₤527,000 a reduction of 40 percent on the same period last year (2007: ₤895,000). On an adjusted basis the loss was ₤296,000 (2007: ₤550,000).
A material factor in this loss was the cost associated with the return to company ownership of a number of poorly trading franchise stores. The possibility of more stores being returned must remain an area of concern for all franchise businesses in the current economic environment but the raising of standards required of franchise proposals should reduce this problem in future.
Sales at UK coffeeshops, including Coffee Republic, are currently showing resilience in the face of the generally depressed retail environment. Like for like network sales are flat although after taking account of new openings sales are up by 33 percent compared with a year ago. Also, store expansion continues satisfactorily but, nonetheless, we intend to proceed warily.
I am pleased to report that there are now 200 Coffee Republic outlets worldwide (see Note 4) compared with 42 (in the UK only) two years ago when Stephen and I organised the shareholders' revolt to rescue the company by taking control of the management.
I look forward to announcing results for the full year to 29 March 2009. Unforeseen circumstances excepted, and taking account of the continuing uncertainty of the current economic circumstances, I believe that those results will justify the confidence of shareholders and underpin your Board's faith in the future of our Brand and our Company.
3 December 2008
INTERIM RESULTS FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 28 SEPTEMBER 2008
CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER'S STATEMENT
When Stephen Bartlett and I joined the Board two years ago we said that we wanted Coffee Republic to be free of bank borrowings. At that time, bank borrowings amounted to ₤3.3m. We progressively reduced those borrowings to ₤1.5m at the end of this half year (28 September). As of yesterday (Tuesday 2 December) I'm pleased to be able to say the company became free of bank debt.
This position was arrived at following agreement with our bank for the elimination of our borrowings provided they were paid a reduced amount promptly. With the benefit of a share placing and the approval of resolutions at an Extraordinary General Meeting on 1 December the Company has complied with the terms of the agreement and hence has now redeemed in full its bank obligations. The placing comprised 2,272,665 ordinary shares at 30 pence each which amounted to £681,799.50.
Stephen and I both through related parties participated in the placing and (with connected parties) now own 30.37%. This has been cleared by the Takeover Panel and was ratified at an EGM on Tuesday 2 December.
The repayment results in the elimination of interest and charges approaching ₤200,000 a year and that effect, combined with a steadily improving trading position across the broad portfolio, gives me confidence that the Company is likely to be operationally cash flow positive, and may indeed be earnings positive, by the end of the current financial year - I believe for the first time in the Company's history.
For the six months ended 28 September 2008, the loss reported on an IFRS basis was ₤527,000 a reduction of 40 percent on the same period last year (2007: ₤895,000). On an adjusted basis the loss was ₤296,000 (2007: ₤550,000).
A material factor in this loss was the cost associated with the return to company ownership of a number of poorly trading franchise stores. The possibility of more stores being returned must remain an area of concern for all franchise businesses in the current economic environment but the raising of standards required of franchise proposals should reduce this problem in future.
Sales at UK coffeeshops, including Coffee Republic, are currently showing resilience in the face of the generally depressed retail environment. Like for like network sales are flat although after taking account of new openings sales are up by 33 percent compared with a year ago. Also, store expansion continues satisfactorily but, nonetheless, we intend to proceed warily.
I am pleased to report that there are now 200 Coffee Republic outlets worldwide (see Note 4) compared with 42 (in the UK only) two years ago when Stephen and I organised the shareholders' revolt to rescue the company by taking control of the management.
I look forward to announcing results for the full year to 29 March 2009. Unforeseen circumstances excepted, and taking account of the continuing uncertainty of the current economic circumstances, I believe that those results will justify the confidence of shareholders and underpin your Board's faith in the future of our Brand and our Company.
New CR Deli due to open in Edinburgh!
28th November
Location: Edinburgh Gyle New Coffee Republic Mall Cafe
Recruiting full time manager and Baristas.
Prior experience of preparing and serving coffee and food essential.
Individual must have a good personality and be able to work in a busy environment.
Please send CV's to coffeerepublicgyle@hotmail.co.uk
Immediate start desirable. Source: http://edinburgh.gumtree.com/edinburgh/27/31608827.html http://www.gyleshopping.co.uk/
Location: Edinburgh Gyle New Coffee Republic Mall Cafe
Recruiting full time manager and Baristas.
Prior experience of preparing and serving coffee and food essential.
Individual must have a good personality and be able to work in a busy environment.
Please send CV's to coffeerepublicgyle@hotmail.co.uk
Immediate start desirable. Source: http://edinburgh.gumtree.com/edinburgh/27/31608827.html http://www.gyleshopping.co.uk/
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