Star Retail in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and KAPICO Holdings, part of Kuwait's Al-Ghannam Group, have signed a joint venture agreement to form Brewmaster Café, the master licensee that will operate Barista Espresso coffee shops across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
With the signing of the joint venture, Brewmaster Café plans to open six Barista Espresso outlets in the UAE by the end of 2003 and will open stores in Kuwait by early 2004.
Brewmaster Café has opened its first outlets at Dubai's Lamcy Plaza and BurJuman, with another location at Al-Ghurair City already under development. The outlets at Lamcy Plaza and BurJuman will operate as kiosks for coffee drinkers on the go. The outlet at Al-Ghurair City will function as a full service espresso bar.
Barista was founded in 1997, and is now part of the Tata Group. It operates over 100 outlets in India and Sri Lanka and has now made its entry in the Middle East.
Star retail is the retail division of the ETA-ASCON Group, a joint venture between Al-Ghurair and Amana Investment Hong Kong. ETA-ASCON’s business interests include construction, elevators and escalators, power projects, recycling management and shipping. The Group has been in existence for 25 years with its head office in Dubai and branch and associate offices in over 17 countries around the world. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
