Caribou Coffee opens 100th international store

Caribou Coffee Company, Inc., announced on 30 May that it officially opened its 100th international operating location.  The latest international Caribou coffeehouse is located in Istanbul, Turkey, and was opened with master franchisee Al Sayer Group and Turkey's Yildiz Holding. The location first opened its doors on 10 May, and marks Caribou's sixth store in Turkey. “The Caribou brand, and our shared dedication to quality and service, has resonated well in this region of the world,” said Al Sayer Group General Manager Hamad Alsayer, in a company statement. “We view this market expansion as an important step in our combined commitment to global franchise development over the next several years.” Al Sayer Group currently operates 89 of Caribou's 100 international locations in Turkey, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Bahrain, Jordan, Oman and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In 2011, Al Sayer Group entered into a joint venture with Yildiz Holding to bring the first – and largest – Caribou coffeehouse to Turkey.  “The 100th international coffeehouse milestone is part of our larger expansion strategy to develop and strengthen Caribou's brand in the countries where we already exist, before proceeding to grow in new markets,” said Mike Tattersfield, president and CEO of Caribou Coffee, in the statement. “We plan to open a number of stores, both domestically and internationally, and increase our total store count by 10 to 12 per cent in 2012.” Caribou has also ramped up its packaged coffee sales in grocery and foodservice channels over the past several years and grown its commercial business significantly, primarily in the United States. As Caribou continues to engage new fans in international markets, the brand says it plans to maintain this trajectory, and demonstrate a strong presence in all channels of the coffee market across the globe. Caribou Coffee is the the second largest company-owned premium coffeehouse operator in the United States.