In late April, Black Bottle Coffee & Tea opened again after social distancing. One month later, a new shop opened on Hoang Hoa Tham street in Binh Thanh district.

On opening day, the owner of the chain said more shops will be opened in the central business districts of HCM City and that many retail premises in advantageous positions are now available at very reasonable rents.

The retail premises can be leased at rent that is 10-20 percent lower because many businesses gave back the premises because of bad business during Covid-19.

“Many F&B shops had to shut down because of Covid-19. However, their failure could be an opportunity for many others,” he commented.

Soon after the epidemic was put under control, five take-away coffee kiosks under Viva-Vietnamese Coffee opened.

Vietnamese Coffee To Go JSC, the owner of the chain, plans to set up 10 similar kiosks and then find partners for franchising. Shyan Sunder, general director of the company, believes that the model will attract young people who want to start with small capital, and even bigger investors.

Investors have rushed to open coffee shops as retail premises rent has become very reasonable and the market is returning to a "new normal" status.

“With the low investment rate and high expected profit of over 300 percent, the business model will be very attractive not only in Vietnam, but all over the world,” he said, adding that about 5,000 coffee kiosks of this kind would be set up throughout the country.

In early June, Viva International opened Viva Reserve on Thanh Thai street in district 10. This is a model upgraded from the existing Viva shops available in nearly all districts in HCM City.

Vival Reserve is equipped with air conditioners, and well designed interior decoration and facilities convenient to office workers and young people who seek new experience with coffee.

According to Le Thi Ngoc Thauy, chair of Viva International, the shops serve six coffee products roasted in different ways and six ways of preparation.

The opening of Ong Bau coffee chain has caught attention from the public recently. This is a project of three famous businessmen – Doan Nguyen Duc, chair of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group, Vo Quoc Thang, chair of Dong Tam Long An, and Tran Thanh Hai, chair of NutiFood.

Following the first shop opening in February, 100 shops of the chain have been set up throughout the country, despite Covid-19. However, the plan is more ambitious: they hope to open 10,000 shops by 2022.

Thanh Lich 

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