Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf inks major deal to enter China
The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, a specialty coffee and tea chain with over 1,000 locations worldwide, announced major expansion plans in China. The company signed an exclusive development agreement with E-LAND, a South Korean retail conglomerate, to open over 700 locations in the years to come. E-LAND operates 7,300 fashion, retail and entertainment outlets and has been recently expanding into food and drink. For Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, this is a big step in establishing a meaningful presence in one of Asia's main markets, where its rival Starbucks already benefits from a significant stronghold with 1,700 locations. Following the opening of its first units in Japan earlier this year, the company plans to open the first store in China in the fourth quarter of 2015.