After Russia, Cofix Sets Sights on Turkey

Cofix, Israel’s discount coffee chain, is expanding its holdings abroad. After entering into an agreement in 2016 to open a chain of coffee shops in Russia, the company has now entered into a deal to open a chain of coffee shops in Turkey. Cofix itself will not operate the chains but will work with local agents who will operate the shops. The company will own 20 percent of the chain, with the rest owned by a series of investors, the company said in a report to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

Details of how the shops will operate were not revealed, but analysts said it was likely that Cofix would copy its local Israeli model and sell a variety of products, including coffee, for a set, single price. The company used that model in its Russian outlets, where items are sold for 50 rubles, and the locations that have been opened so far have proven very popular.

Meanwhile, in its quarterly profit and loss report last week, Cofix revealed that it had experienced a loss of revenues of 18.5 percent, with Cofix stores selling NIS 5.2 million less of products in the second quarter of 2017. That is about the time the chain raised its prices by 20 percent – with most items in the store increasing in price from NIS 5 to NIS 6. Operating costs, meanwhile, rose by 50 percent, as the chain took over 13 branches from franchisees.