London coffee chain looking at local opportunities
GAPURNA Permai Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oil Ehsan Sdn Bhd, has tied up with Costa Coffee PLC to expand the Londonbased coffee chain here.
The two parties recently signed the heads of terms agreement which appoints Gapurna as Costa Coffee’s master franchisee in Malaysia.
The agreement was signed by Gapurna director Nor Izzati Mohamad Salim and Costa Coffee Middle East and Asia managing director Clair Preston-Beer.
“We are delighted to be in this strategic collaboration with a strong partner like Gapurna, who is well equipped with the required knowledge to bring UK’s favourite coffee brand into the city of Kuala Lumpur and greater Malaysia. This builds towards the fulfilment of Costa’s international growth ambitions, but more importantly, it allows us to delight customers around the world with our great handcrafted coffee,” said PrestonBeer.
“We are certainly excited to embark on this endeavour as Costa is a world class coffee brand and we are optimistic that Costa Coffee will be well received by all Malaysians. Our focus will first be on opening a series of kiosks and coffee boutiques at major transportation hubs and shopping malls around Selangor and Kuala Lumpur in the first year,” adds Izzati.
The exchange of documents was witnessed by Costa International head of SEA franchise and new market Matt Kenley and Costa Coffee Malaysia chief executive officer Irfan Hamid.
Izzati notes that the coffee brand will be launching several programmes and activities in the coming years to engage with its new Malaysian audience as it serves up its beautifully crafted signature flat whites for all to enjoy.