A NEW franchise chain has thrown down the gauntlet to Gloria Jeans, Dome and Caffissimo in the booming cappuccino and latte market in Perth, with plans to open up to 20 cafés.
A NEW franchise chain has thrown down the gauntlet to Gloria Jeans, Dome and Caffissimo in the booming cappuccino and latte market in Perth, with plans to open up to 20 cafés.
ExoMod is also planning 24-hour weekend operations to offer a new service to coffee-loving Australians, who consume an average of about 2.5 kilograms of coffee a year.
ExoMod roasts its own premium blend coffee in Perth.
The company has operated in Beaufort Street, Mt Lawley, for three years and just a fortnight ago opened an "outdoor" café on the Swan River foreshore off Mill Point Road in South Perth, overlooking the old Swan Brewery.
The Mt Lawley outlet, which operates to 11 pm from Sundays to Thursdays and 24 hours on Fridays and Saturdays, claims to be the biggest coffee shop in the area.
Next month, ExoMod plans to open a big new city café in the former Lindt chocolate shop premises on the corner of Barrack Street and the Murray Street mall.
This store will open to possibly 7pm on weekdays and 24 hours on Fridays and Saturdays.
ExoMod is run by the father and son team of Mervyn and Brendan Cole.
The unusual name was devised by Brendan to represent excellence in modern life around which a lifestyle brand could be built.
Brendan, the operations manager, said the first three stores were company owned, but franchisees, licences and joint ventures were now being offered for cafés in the pipeline.
Current plans are to open up to 20 outlets in metropolitan and regional areas in the next two years and to expand interstate two years from now.
"Having successfully operated for three years, ExoMod offers the perfect synergy of friendly people, premium coffee, exotic teas, gourmet food and fine local art to Western Australians waiting to jump on board the coffeehouse wagon," Mr Cole told WA Business News.
"ExoMod offers a different experience to the established franchises, with staff hand-picked to offer a more friendly and personalised service in a family environment.
"We are now looking for partners who are passionate, prepared to work long and hard and understand the industry."
ExoMod's plans will lift the number of café chain outlets in WA, mostly in Perth, to well over 100.
Among its competitors, Dome has 31 outlets, Gloria Jeans 27 and Caffissimo 27, while The Merchant Tea & Coffee Co and Cino To Go have seven each.
"The quality end of the retail market in roast and ground coffee sales in Australia is estimated to have grown by 30 per cent over the past five years to be now worth $125 million," Mr Cole said.
