PETALING JAYA: Loob Holding Sdn Bhd, the owner of Tealive bubble tea brand, is expected to open 500 stores in China by 2020 following its joint-venture (JV) with two China-based companies, Zhejian Boduo International Trade Co Ltd and Shanghai Panfei International Trade Co Ltd today.
Loob Chief Executive Officer Bryan Loo said that entering the huge Chinese market would be very competitive, but Tealive outlets in China would be different.
“The menu would be 50 per cent different from what we have in Malaysia as we would localise the taste.
“We will work closely with Zhejian Boduo’s research and development team to create flavours using durian, jack fruit, Gula Melaka and Bentong Halia,” he said during a press conference after signing the JV with the two Chinese companies.
The signing ceremony was witnessed by the Malaysian Franchise Association Chairman Datuk Razali Hassan.
Loob Holding will own a 51 per cent stake in the JV while 43 per cent will be held by Zhejiang Boduo and the remaining six per cent will be owned by Shanghai Panfei.
Loo also said that 30 per cent of the raw materials would be imported from Malaysia, while the remaining ingredients would be from China.
For this year, Loob Holding is expected to open four Tealive stores by year-end, both in Shanghai, while in the next two years, another 200 stores are expected to be opened in the Zhejiang province which is located in eastern China.
Loob Holding previously said it was targeting to penetrate seven new markets for the brand this year and so far has entered Vietnam and Australia.
Loo said the company was expected to open 15 stores in Vietnam, four in Australia and two stores in India, all by year-end.
“We will be going to India at the end of this month to finalise several things including the menu, as India is a completely different market compared to other countries,” he said.
Meanwhile, Razali said that Tealive was one of the successful brands that had managed to set up franchises outside Malaysia.
“The franchise industry is moving ahead steadily. As of now, we have 65 local brands that have franchises in 66 countries, with a total of about 5,000 outlets,” he said.