Taiwan-based milk tea Chatime, the number one milk tea drink in the country, targets to end the year with 150 stores following a 97-percent growth between 2017 and 2019.
Master franchise holder Teabros Corp. said Chatime aims to grow revenues by 60 percent to P1.6 billion this year from P1 billion in 2018.
The company’s original franchise agreement that expired in 2015 only required them to build 25 stores. The master franchise was renewed for 20 more years.
By the end of 2018 following a recent resurgence in the demand for bubble tea, Chatime had a total of 70 stores.
“We opened our 100th store in Davao City in July and we are confident that we could end this year with a total of 150,” said Chris Cua, finance and marketing manager and one of six founders of Teabros .
Chatime currently sells around 50,000 cups of milk tea a day, a volume whose total in three months could fill an Olympic size swimming poll.
That volume will likely double by next year as the company expands its network further and the double-digit growth in demand for milk tea is sustained.
“We’re seeing over 50 percent growth in same store year on year sales,” said Cua.
Chatime accounts for about over a quarter of the bigger bubble tea shops–those whose price per tumbler is P100 or more.
Chatime plans to open 50 new stores and renovate around 40 shops to update those opened in 2014 and earlier. The faster rollout this year was because of a deal with Shell that requires them to open shops in 50 stations and with Waltermart that gave Chatime space in about 20 locations.
