The Born Korea(475560)'s coffee brand PAIK'S COFFEE said on the 20th it will push into the global market in earnest by opening its first and second stores back-to-back in "Shimbashi" and "Kanda," key office districts in Tokyo, Japan.
PAIK'S COFFEE opened its first store in Shimbashi on the 6th and followed with a second in Kanda on the 18th. The stores are the first overseas locations to adopt the new PAIK'S COFFEE BI, revamped for entry into the global market.
PAIK'S COFFEE said it chose locations with strong repeat-visit demand rather than simple foot traffic. Shimbashi, where the first store is located, is dense with corporations and office workers, driving high coffee demand during the morning commute and lunchtime, while Kanda, where the second store is located, combines office areas and a university district, forming a commercial zone with active weekday spending by office workers and students.
In Japan, PAIK'S COFFEE operates takeout-focused stores that separate ordering and pickup zones to streamline customer flow, and it has also introduced a "smart pickup system" for fast, accurate drink handoffs during peak hours. When a prepared drink is placed on the pickup counter, the drink name, order number, and number of cups automatically display at that spot so customers can easily check and pick up their orders.
It offers a daily coffee lineup including an Americano for 250 yen (about 2,200 won) and a cafe latte for 380 yen (about 3,300 won), and it has also introduced Japan-only items such as corn soup for a breakfast substitute and local-friendly ingredients like matcha and kinako.
It also established a local "PAIK'S COFFEE LAB" to expand stores in Japan. The lab develops and tests Japan-only menus and trains staff on recipes, and it plans to serve as a base to build operating standards for Japanese stores through future R&D of new items and store operation tests and simulations.
PAIK'S COFFEE plans to push additional openings in Tokyo within the year based on the operating results and customer response at the first and second stores in Shimbashi and Kanda. It then expects to expand into major Japanese cities such as Osaka, gradually increasing brand touchpoints in the Japanese market.
It will also expand global stores. In September, it plans to sign an MF (master franchise) operating contract with a local company in Taiwan, open a store in China by the end of this year, and enter the United States, Cambodia, and India next year to expand PAIK'S COFFEE's global business.
A The Born Korea official said, "Shimbashi and Kanda are suitable commercial areas to verify PAIK'S COFFEE's daily coffee competitiveness and local operating model," adding, "We will continuously track Japanese customers' menu preferences and usage patterns and, through the PAIK'S COFFEE LAB, further develop the local operating model to gradually expand brand touchpoints in Japan."