East Europe turmoil hurts Coffeeheaven
Sep 17, 2009
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Eastern European coffee shop operator Coffeeheaven fell into losses in the year to March 31 as the global economic downturn wreaked havoc in some of its important markets.
The firm posted a pre-tax loss of £185,000 for the period, compared with a profit of £512,000 in the previous year. Turnover was up to £23.3m from £17.8m. Like-for-like sales grew 12%.
While the firm's main market of Poland managed to weather the downturn well, the group's second-biggest market, the Czech Republic, was hit by the deteriorating economy and saw declines in tourism. The market bore the brunt of store closures Coffeeheaven had to implement to cope with the tough conditions.
The company also exited the smaller markets of Romania and Slovakia and plans to focus new store development on Poland and Hungary.
It said the current year has started 'reasonably well given global market conditions.'
'We believe Coffeeheaven as central Europe's leading coffee bar brand continues to grow market share across the region,' said chairman Richard Worthington.
Coffeeheaven now has a total of 88 stores, comprising 61 in Poland, 14 in the Czech Republic, seven in Latvia, three in Bulgaria and 3 in Hungary. It says it has an approximate 23% market share in Poland and believes that it has similar shares in the Czech Republic and Latvia.
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