Figaro Coffee

Figaro Coffee Company
Formerly called
 "F" store (1993)
Industry Coffee shop
Founded November 1993 (1993-11)
Glorietta, Makati, Philippines
Number of locations
 55 (2013)
Products
  • Coffee beverages
  • Fine meals
  • Pastries
  • Dessert
Website www.figarocoffee.com

The Figaro Coffee Company (Figaro) is a Philippine coffee company and coffeehouse chain.

History

Philippine Ambassador to Qatar Wilfredo C. Santos (2nd from right) and Cultural Attaché John Danilo G. Jiao (3rd from left), together with the Filipino and expatriate staff members of Figaro in Qatar during the 2016 opening of a Figaro Coffee Shop in Doha.

Figaro was established in November 1993 by seven college friends[1] (including Pacita "Chit" Juan, who was the CEO of Figaro, and Reena S. Franciso, who became its COO till 2008) as a small kiosk in Glorietta mall (Makati, Manila) selling fresh ground coffee and tea paraphernalia. Two of the founders, including Pacita Juan and Reena S. Franciso Pacita, were classmates at the University of the Philippines, where Pacita had studied Hotel and Restaurant Administration. Pacita worked for a while in her family business and then decided to start a coffee shop, something that she had earlier dabbled with while still in college.[2][3] The first outlet was called the "F" store and employed one managing partner and two employees.[4] The shop had coffee and tea paraphernalia including fresh ground coffee beans. After a few trying initial months, the owners decided to give the coffee shop a name. In April 1994, the founders chose the name "Figaro", inspired by the opera Barber of Seville, thus Figaro was born.[5] Pacita and her friends wanted to set up a place where "Filipinos can get the perfect coffee and all the necessary accoutrements for coffee making”.[6] Pacita subsequently became the CEO of Figaro, a position she retained till 2008 when the chain was sold to Jerry Liu, a Taiwanese businessman. Jose Fernando Alcantara took Pacita's place in 2008, followed by CrisMel Verano in 2009.[7] Reena remained the Chief Operating Officer till 2008.

In 1998, Pacita met Father Roger Bagao, a coffee farmer and priest from Tagaytay City who headed a farmers' coffee cooperative. In 1999, Figaro introduced Cafe Barako, as part of the "Save the Barako" campaign. Around the same time, the Figaro foundation was set up, to help coffee farmers grow coffee profitably. In 2002, while at Figaro, Pacita became the President of the National Coffee Development Board (now Philippine Coffee Board Inc). After Figaro, Pacita went on to set up ECHOstore.[8] In 2005, Figaro opened its first overseas outlet in Shanghai. By mid-2006, Figaro had grown to 53 outlets, most of which were in Metro Manila, with two in Baguio and one in Davao. In 2006 (and again in 2009), Figaro voiced plans on an IPO in Makati Stock Exchange; however, those did not materialise. In December 2006, Figaro opened its first branch in Cebu city, and opened another 12 stores in 2007.[9] 2008 marked a turning point for Figaro, as Pacita and Reena left it, while the Tanseco family became its majority shareholders.[10] In 2009, the company underwent financial restructuring and closed some of its overseas branches.[11]

Some trademarks of Figaro continue to be owned by Pacita and are currently contested in court.[12] In the same year, Figaro began to experiment in retailing and exporting organic coffee.[13]

In April 2013, the franchisee manager of Figaro, Mike Barret, informed the media of their intent to open outlets in Fiji and Vietnam.[14][15][16]

Company

Figaro works on the franchise model. As of September 2013, it had 55 outlets in Philippines, Saudi Arabia and Papua New Guinea. The company does not own roasting facilities, but rather employs the facilities of a sister company, Boyd’s Coffee Company.[17]

The company has a customer loyalty scheme called "Coffee club" which organizes biannual coffee plantation tours in Cavite and Batangas. They also organize Barako tree plantation trips.

Coffee and food

Figaro's serves coffee made from freshly-roasted beans sourced from all over the Philippines, especially Batangas (Barako brand) and the Mountain province. It also sources coffee from Kalinga, Ifugao, Benguet, Batangas, Cavite, Negros, Davao, Sulu and Basilan and markets them under the brand names of Cafe Maharlika, Monte Alto, Barako gold and Cafe Vigoroso. They also serve fine meals, pastries and desserts. All their outlets tend to have a European-style ambiance.[18] In August 2013, Figaro's started serving Vietnamese coffee under the name of Kape Indochine

They have established the Figaro foundation which works with local farmers and conducts tree planting and ecology tours.[19] The Figaro foundation helps local farmers to grow coffee profitably. Their programs include Save the barako campaign, Adopt a farm, Tree planting and Eco tours, As part of its "Barako Tree Planting Project", it helped plant 30,000 trees in and around Amadeo, a coffee growing town.

Figaro is often quoted as an inspiration for other coffee shops and chains in Philippines.

See also

List of Coffeehouse chains

References

  1. ↑ "Profile and past jobs - Reena Francisco". Linked In. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  2. ↑ Sanford, Alpha Miguel (13 October 2012). "Success story : Pacita Juan, entrepreneur". A.M.S Daily. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  3. ↑ "Figaro - Official facebook page". Facebook. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  4. ↑ "Figaro Coffee Shop". www.franphil.com. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  5. ↑ "About Figaro Coffee Company". Official website - Figaro. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  6. ↑ Nuguid-Anden, Charmaine. Figaro Coffee Company Case Study (PDF). UK: New Academy. p. 3.
  7. ↑ Reyes, Mary Anne (28 August 2011). "Row at Figaro". Phil Star. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  8. ↑ Ravanona, Anne (2012). "Interview with Pacita Juan". Global Leader Post. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  9. ↑ Felix, Rocel (28 August 2006). "Figaro Coffee prepares for initial public offering". Phil Star. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  10. ↑ "Figaro all set for expansion". GMA Network. 24 February 2009. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  11. ↑ Go, Marianne (12 August 2009). "Figaro needs P200 million to pay debts". Phil Star. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  12. ↑ Poblete, Johanna (26 June 2009). "Ex-Figaro CEO pushes ahead with new coffee chain". ABS CBN Business News. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  13. ↑ Bongcac, Doris (11 December 2008). "Figaro studying organic coffee market". Philippine Inquirer. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  14. ↑ "Figaro eyes Fiji". Inside Retail Asia. 29 April 2013. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  15. ↑ "Coffee Chain Figaro (Philippine) to Bring its Franchise to Fiji". World Franchise Associates. 24 April 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  16. ↑ Valemai, Ropate (24 April 2013). "Coffee chain considers Fiji franchise". The Fiji Times. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  17. ↑ Nuguid-Anden, Charmaine. Figaro Coffee Company Case Study (PDF). UK: U.N Volunteers - New Academy of Business. p. 4.
  18. ↑ Santos, Anna (21 April 2012). "Brewing in Papua New Guinea". Rappler. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  19. ↑ "The Figaro Foundation". Official website. Retrieved 5 September 2013.

External links

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