Esquires set for Cyprus expansion

The Esquire's coffee name will soon be seen in Cyprus.

Cooks Global Foods, which operates the Esquires Coffee brand, is continuing its sweeping global expansion, announcing this morning that it had signed a master franchise deal to launch Esquires Coffee Houses in Northern Cyprus.

The deal follows several major coups for the business this year, including the purchase of the Canadian rights for Esquires in April for $238,000, and confirmed expansion into Indonesia, with a minimum of 40 Esquires stores to be set up in the coming years.

The Cyprus deal will include the rights for five Esquires Coffee Houses in the region, with the first store set to open in the principal city of Nicosia in November.

Director of Business Development Stuart Deeks said the move into Cyprus presented a good growth opportunity for the company.

"Just like Indonesia, Cyprus represents an exciting opportunity for a new and clearly differentiated brand such as Esquires - with our organic and fair trade focus - to enter the market while the coffee shop industry is still in its infancy," Deeks said.

The company leverages off New Zealand's reputation for fresh and high quality goods, and uses only fairtrade and organic products, something chairman Keith Jackson said provides a point of difference in the coffee industry.

Deeks also noted that in the Cyprus region, Cooks' main competitor was Australian chain Gloria Jeans, something he said was likely to result in some healthy Australian - New Zealand rivalry.

The Cooks' Global Foods brand owns the rights to Esquires Coffee Houses worldwide excluding New Zealand and Australia.

Shares in Cooks' Global Foods opened this morning at $0.166.