| Joint Venture with easyInternetCafe |
| 17 June 2002 |
CAFFE NERO GROUP PLC
Joint Venture with easyInternetCafe
Caffe Nero Group plc, the leading UK independent coffee bar operator, announces that it has entered into a joint venture agreement with easyInternetCafe.
Caffe Nero Group Plc ('Caffe Nero') today announces that it has entered into an agreement with Stelios's easyInternetCafe chain to introduce its first Caffe Nero in a cooperative shared space.
Under the terms of the deal, the Group will operate a Caffe Nero adjacent to easyInternetCafe's flagship location in High Street Kensington. Caffe Nero will operate on the groundfloor of easyInternetCafe with approximately 1,600 sq. ft of trading space, with direct access from High Street Kensington, and will be open from 07.00 until 23.00 hours in keeping with the internet cafe's trading
hours. The Caffe Nero store will also have access to easyInternetCafe and consumers will be able to move back and forth between the two operations. The High Street Kensington location has a total of 350 PCs and continues to see increasing footfall in this central location with approximately 18,000 customers currently visiting the internet cafe per week. The new Caffe Nero store is due
to commence trading in early August.
The EasyInternetCafe chain offers user-friendly and value-for-money internet access to its growing young and dynamic customer base. Typically situated in busy locations in major international cities, easyInternetCafes target a wide customer profile ranging from local inhabitants to students and international visitors.
This is Caffe Nero's first such agreement with easyInternetCafe and, if successful, there is the potential for Caffe Nero and the easyInternetCafe Group to co-operate on further sites. easyInternetCafe currently operates a total of nine internet cafes in the UK, six of which are in London, and 23 worldwide in locations such as Barcelona and Paris.
Caffe Nero currently operates as the largest UK independent coffee house group with a total of 109 coffee bars. For the third consecutive year, Caffe Nero has ranked as the number one coffee bar operator in the UK by consumers in Allegra Strategies definitive study on the coffee bar market.
Commenting on the joint venture, Gerry Ford, Chairman, said:
'Joining forces with the easyInternetCafe chain is an exciting development in Caffe Nero's expansion. The mix of our continental cafe culture with easyInternetCafe's online service will create a new internet experience for customers from which both parties will benefit. This is the first of a number of initiatives in which we hope to explore the considerable opportunities for the further development of the Caffe Nero brand.'
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