Whitbread has opened its 100th Costa Coffee store in China, as it looks to operate 300 sites under the brand in the country by 2016.
The site at Beijing International Airport was officially opened by Whitbread chief executive Andy Harrison, John Derkach, managing director of Costa and Luo Zhiwei, general manager of The Beijing Hualian Group, Costa’s joint venture partner in Northern China.
Costa first entered the Chinese market in 2007.
In April, Whitbread announced new five year milestones, to double the size of the Costa network to 3,500 stores and double global system sales to £1.3bn. The company said its expansion in China would be a key factor in achieving these targets.
Harrison said: “We are delighted with the excellent progress made by Costa in China in collaboration with our two joint venture partners. Costa is the UK's favourite coffee shop and it is very exciting to see so many Chinese people enjoying the Costa experience. Opening our 100th Costa store in Beijing International Airport is a tremendous milestone for the brand in this crucial international market."
Zhiwei said: “Costa continues to perform well in the Chinese market with year on year sales rising at a rapid rate. The Chinese market has adapted well and Costa Coffee is now a firm favourite in China. We look forward to growing the brand in the Chinese market.”
