Yum China and Lavazza Group in Joint Venture With Flagship Store in Shanghai
March 22 - 2021 Coffee Geography Magazine
Yum China Holdings, Inc. and and the Lavazza Group welcomed Luca
Ferrari, Ambassador of Italy to the People's Republic of China, to the Lavazza
Flagship Store in Shanghai. During the visit, Ambassador Ferrari
tasted Lavazza's premium coffee and classic and creative menu options, while
taking time to appreciate the store's unique and iconic Italian style setting.
Yum
China and the Lavazza Group, the world-renowned family-owned Italian coffee
company, formed a joint venture in 2020 to explore and develop the Lavazza
coffee shop concept in China. A new Lavazza Flagship Store in Shanghai, the
first in Asia, opened its doors to customers in early 2020. Encouraged by
overwhelmingly positive consumer feedback, four additional Lavazza stores have
since opened in Shanghai.
"We
were delighted to welcome Ambassador Ferrari to the Lavazza Flagship Store in
Shanghai. Partnering with Lavazza Group, we are excited to have introduced this
iconic Italian brand to China. Lavazza offers customers an authentic Italian
coffee experience and a taste of Italian culture," said Joey Wat, CEO of
Yum China. "With the right mix of tradition, innovation and localization,
we are well positioned to quickly respond to evolving consumer needs and
capture the significant coffee opportunity in China."
Joey Wat, CEO of Yum China.
"Lavazza has been always able to innovate throughout its decades-long activity. Innovation, style and delicate taste are at the very core of Lavazza's mission. With the opening of this new flagship store in Shanghai, the joint venture of Lavazza and Yum China proves again to be a successful story in the commercial relations between Italian and Chinese companies. With its unique mix of innovation, vanguard and style, Shanghai is a key door for Italian high-quality products. Hence, I am happy to see a new place here in this marvelous city to enjoy an authentic taste of Italy," said Luca Ferrari, Ambassador of Italy to the People's Republic of China.
Luca Ferrari, Ambassador of Italy to the People's Republic of China.
With
a history of over 125 years, Lavazza has built on its Italian heritage and
commitment to quality and innovation, establishing itself as an industry
pioneer that is loved by coffee drinkers around the world. In recent years, the
Lavazza Group has stepped up the process of international development aimed at
tapping into new markets and meeting rising customer demand for premium coffee.
In
2021, Yum China and the Lavazza Group plan to accelerate additional Lavazza
store openings in China and test different store formats, ranging from mini to
flagship stores. Yum China's scale and in-depth local market knowledge,
combined with Lavazza's coffee credentials and quality-offering, creates a
strong platform for the Lavazza coffee shop concept to succeed in China.
During the visit at the first Asian flagship store senior management team from Lavazaa and Yum China with Ambassador of Italy to China
Lavazza,
founded in Turin in 1895, has been owned by the Lavazza family for four
generations. As one of the world's most important coffee roasters, the Group
now operates in more than 140 countries through its subsidiaries and
distributors, with 70%of turnover generated on international markets. Lavazza
employs a total of over 4,000 people and in 2019 generated sales of € 2.2
billion.
Companies
that form part of the Lavazza Group include France's Carte Noire and ESP
(acquired in 2016 and 2017 respectively), Denmark's Merrild (2015), North
America's Kicking Horse Coffee (2017), Italy's Nims (2017), and the business of
Australia's Blue Pod Coffee Co (2018). At the end of 2018, following an
acquisition, the Lavazza Professional Business Unit was created, which includes
the Office Coffee Service (OCS) and Vending systems Flavia and Klix.
Yum
China Holdings, Inc. is a licensee of Yum! Brands in mainland China. It has
exclusive rights in mainland China to KFC, China's leading quick-service
restaurant brand, Pizza Hut, the leading casual dining restaurant brand in
China, and Taco Bell, a California-based restaurant chain serving innovative
Mexican-inspired food. Yum China also owns the Little Sheep, Huang Ji Huang,
East Dawning and COFFii & JOY concepts outright. In addition, Yum China has
partnered with Lavazza to explore and develop the Lavazza coffee shop concept
in China. The Company had 10,506 restaurants in over 1,500 cities at the end of
December 2020. Yum China ranked # 361 on the Fortune 500 list for 2020. Yum
China has been named the Industry Leader for the Restaurant & Leisure
Facilities Industry in the 2020 Dow Jones Sustainability Indices. In 2021, Yum
China was named to the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index and was certified as a
Top Employer 2021 in China by the Top Employers Institute, both for the third
consecutive year. For more information, please visit http://ir.yumchina.com.