“This café is franchised. The entrepreneur that operates it decided to relocate it for financial reasons. Rent in Piata Romana is very high especially since there is only one seismically safe apartment building there, the building we used to operate in. The owner of that space got a better offer so a decision to relocate was made,” says Ciprian Anton, chief operating officer of the coffee shop chain.
The owner of the café on Calea Mosilor is Cristian Stefanescu, who also operates a franchised Gloria Jean’s in Piata Victoriei.
“We pay 70% less for the Calea Mosilor space than for the space in Piata Romana. Moreover, that is a volatile area and it was difficult to make financial forecasts for it.”
The holder of the master franchise for the Australian-held Gloria Jean’s café chain in Romania is Gourmet Products Servicii. The master franchisee holds one coffee shop in Romania, which is located on the Unirii boulevard in Bucharest. In all, there are 12 Gloria Jean’s in operation and a new one is due to open in the Sun Plaza mall, also in Bucharest.
“We have not closed any café so far, only relocated them. In all, our revenue stood at about EUR3 million last year,” Ciprian Anton said.
Most cafés operate in Bucharest and the surrounding areas (Otopeni Airport) but there are some in big cities like Constanta, Ploiesti and Pitesti. The already existing cafés operate in major shopping centers like AFI Cotroceni and ParkLake and in street front locations with high pedestrian traffic.
“We prefer street front locations with pedestrian traffic and are looking at spaces with a patio. Such places are also more affordable. Rent in malls stands at EUR10,000 to EUR15,000 a month, while in a street front location it may be as little as less than half of that.”
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)