Tata Coffee to take Mr Beans to 100 locations nationwide

17 July 2007

Bangalore-based TCL is 51 per cent owned by Tata Tea and has currently one such outlet under the brand name of Tata Mr Bean Junction at Kochi in Kerala.

"We have plans to start another five in the current financial year," reports quoting the company''s managing director M Hamid Ashraff said.

He said the company is yet to finalise locations, although it is thinking of putting up the five outlets, including in cities like Hyderabad , Chennai and Bangalore.
He said the five shops will be company-owned while growth thereafter would take the frachisee route. In the next five years, the company expects to have around 100 outlets, he said.

TCL, he said, plans to launch a brand in the Russian market, possibly ''Eight O'' Clock'' which it acquired last year from Gryphon Investors for Rs1,015 crore. The company is also eying at new markets like Australia, he said.

Meanwhile, Tata Coffee''s proposed 3,600-tonne coffee plant in Uganda has been delayed due to rivalry among local bodies in the identified areas for the company''s investment, he said.

The issue would be sorted out in 2-3 months, and the company would be in a position to construct the plant, which would address markets in Europe and China , he said.