Figaro coffee wants to expand abroad

By Raju Gopalakrishnan
Reuters
Last updated 05:48pm (Mla time) 01/25/2007

MANILA, Philippines -- A coffee called wild boar in a shop named after the lead character in a Mozart opera?

That's what happening in a highly successful chain of cafes in the Philippines, whose owner now wants to expand to cities as far apart as Beijing and Istanbul.

Figaro Coffee, with 55 outlets in the Philippines against the 106 of market leader Starbucks, already has two shops in China -- in Shanghai.

"We are looking at Beijing this year," President and Chief Executive Pacita Juan said in an interview on Thursday. "We want to be there before the (2008) Olympics."

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