Bo’s Coffee, founded by entrepreneur and CEO Steve Benitez, aims to close 2024 with about 160 outlets with plans to open 35 more stores—mainly outside Metro Manila.
“We are looking forward to reducing of interest rates,” Benitez, the event chair, told reporters during the Franchise Asia Philippines 2024.
For 2025, he said Bo’s Coffee plans to open as many as 50 new stores.
Expansion in the Middle East, Canada
Bo’s Coffee, which grew its brand using high-quality, locally sourced products, is also planting the Philippine flag overseas.
Benitez said they will end the year with 16 outlets in Doha, Qatar; and four stores in Dubai.
“Canada is on the table. If that happens, it will happen next year with 5 stores [over several years],” he noted.
Wendy’s, Conti’s also bullish
Joey Garcia, president and CEO of Eight8Ate Holdings—operator of Wendy’s Philippines and Conti’s—said they were making a major expansion push in the next three to four months.
“We see a good upward trend for the second half of the year,” he said during the event. “Hopefully there will be a tapering of inflation, and interest rates get better”.
The strengthening Philippine peso benefits consumer spending and businesses that rely on imports, he noted.
For this year, Wendy’s Philippines will grow to over 80 stores from about 70 outlets nationwide.
Conti’s will also add eight to 10 new outlets by the end of 2024.
Maintaining margins
Despite increased costs, Benitez said Bo’s Coffee mitigated the impact of inflation by improving business efficiency rather than just raising prices.
“In [Bo’s] case, we were able to dig deeper into logistics and see where we could save,” he said.
Holiday spending
Garcia is also banking on strong Christmas sales to lift their business performance.
“That’s when we generate more revenues. Toward the last part of the year,” he said.
Miguel R. Camus has been a reporter covering various domestic business topics since 2009.
