85 Degrees: talks about rapid growth

Taipei / TW. (div) 85 Degrees Cafe, a brand specialised in coffee, cake and bakery, was funded 2003 in Taiwan. Now with over 320 stores in Formosa, it is a leading franchisee chain in the East-Asian coffee and cake cafe industry. In 2006, 85 Degrees stepped into the international market, opened its first store in Sydney, Australia. In 2007, the company opened its first store in Shanghai (CN) and in 2008 85 Degrees made its debut in the United States – in Irvine, California. In 2009 the Taiwan-based bakery chain recorded revenue of nearly 500 million Renminbi Yuan (CNY) from mainland China and more than three billion Taiwan-Dollar (TWD) from Formosa in 2009 – the «21 Century Business Herald» reported, quoting company Vice General Manager Wang Jianyao. According to the newspaper Wang expects the chain´s mainland revenue to surpass that of Taiwan in 2010. 85 Degrees Cafe plans to open around 93 new stores in the People´s Republic of China in 2010, including nine in Shenzhen and more than 60 in eastern China, to reach a total of 186 mainland stores this year, including 20 in Beijing, said the report. 85 Degrees Cafe plans to list its overseas, mainland and Taiwan businesses together in Taiwan in the third quarter. According to the report the company recently received 200 million TWD from Pan Wei, founder of Ajisen Ramen, for about two percent of its stake, as well as 700 million TWD from HSBC Private Equity (Asia) Limited for seven percent stake in the second half of 2009.