GFA Corporation (Thailand), the owner and franchiser of brands such as Coffee World, Cream & Fudge Factory and New York 5th Avenue Deli, will invest 300 million baht to double its business size and sales over the next three years to cash in on continued growth in Thailand.
Mr White says Coffee World will be the first international coffee shop in Myanmar as GFA expands into neighbouring countries.
Coffee shops in the country have seen business grow rapidly in line with the economy and tourism, with various international chains and local brands vying for a share of the 7-billion-baht market.
The 30-billion-baht coffee business in Thailand includes sales of instant coffee and 3-in-1 packets.
Darren White, the newly appointed managing director of GFA Corporation (Thailand) Co, said the company planned to open 100 new stores across all GFA brands during 2015-17.
The expansion will raise the number of GFA stores in Thailand to 200 in the next three years.
Of the 100 new outlets, 90% will be Coffee World shops.
The investment is aside from plans to enter neighbouring countries, namely Myanmar, Vietnam and Laos.
Expansion in those places could come in the form of franchises, Mr White said.
"We are very confident in the coffee industry in Thailand, which has shown strong growth in recent years in both consumption volume and retail brands," he said at a press briefing yesterday. "The strong market is assured of continued growth in the years ahead."
According to Kasikorn Research Center, big coffee chains such as Starbucks, Coffee World, Amazon and True Coffee led a market that rang up overall sales of 7.23 billion baht last year, an 11% increase from 2012.
This year, competition remains spirited despite sluggish economic growth stemming from first-half political tensions.
Starbucks now has 208 outlets and plans to increase the total to 220 by year-end.
Mr White said GFA had 200 coffee shops and bakeries under a franchise concept in seven countries.
Of the total, half are in Thailand and half are in Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, China, Bahrain and India.
GFA is considering expansion of its coffee business into Yangon next year, an investment that would make Coffee World the first international coffee shop in Myanmar.
After visiting Yangon, Mr White spoke of a great opportunity as the market remains light with a few local coffee shops, while the economy and tourism are booming.
Starbucks has reportedly announced its entry into Myanmar some time in 2015.
Despite the promising outlook, GFA's local sales in the first three quarters this year underwhelmed at 400 million baht, flat with last year.
But the calmer political climate and government plans for more economic stimulus are seen as boosting full-year sales to reach 500 million baht as planned.
Mr White said the state's infrastructure plans and the retail industry's expansion would benefit the company's operations going forward.
GFA aims to double its sales to 1 billion baht by 2017.