For more than a year now, restrictive measures that were in place during the peak of the pandemic have been lifted in Russia. In this regard, the editorial board of Made in Russia continues to interview representatives of various business spheres in Russia to find out what a difficult crisis year was like for them. Perhaps the worst hit by the pandemic were catering companies, which They incurred rapid losses and urgently introduced new formats of communication with customers - setting up delivery services and creating their own sites. The editorial board sent inquiries to representatives of various café and restaurant chains in Moscow - in this article we will tell you about the measures taken in the largest and best known to all international chain of Cofixcoffee shops operating in Russia.

"Fixed-price coffee shops are very dependent on of traffic. In the structure of Cofix sales it is the main share of revenue. Therefore pandemic in general and especially the period of strict quarantine restrictions adversely affected the work of our network", - Andrey Fomin, the director of for Cofix business development in Russia and CIS told to the editorial office.

According to him when all the coffee shops of the chain were suspended in Russia the management of Cofix was decision in the shortest possible time to launch its own temporary delivery and pre-order service. To help themselves during the difficult pandemic period and to leave an influx of customers, Cofix has tried entirely new formats - launching sales of branded coffee beans on marketplaces and opening foodtracks.

"Дleftoverа and pre-order Cofix launchedи two weeks after the start of the lockdown. In May, Cofix coffee beans appeared in the online stores Wildberries, Beru and Ozon. В Juneе coffee beans began to be gradually connected to Delivery Club. Also in June, we launched a new for us format .: foodtruck Cofixwhich has been actively used at the open-air eventsevents, such as competitions "Race of Heroes" и bicycle race "L'Étape Moscow by Tour de France". We understood that all these measures will not be able to provide "doc.ovidual" turnover of the network. It was, rather, a way of staying in touch with guests and survive the in the middle of a crisis," a representative of the chain shared with the editorial board..

Gradual recovery to the "pre-crisis" indicators began to be seen after restrictions on the operation of catering facilities were lifted. For instance,, already in August-September 2020, the company managed to partially offset the drop in revenues byby increasing the average bill and the number of coffee shops.

"Кhe number of checks в chain Cofix is still behind the numbersи 2019. This April, for example, the difference from the same month in 2019 was 33%. At Meanwhile, в revenue we're are doing a little better.. Эit's due to the expansion the menu and the introduction of new items for 120 and 180 rubles, popularity of which our losses in monetary terms," Andrey Fomin said..

At the same time, despite the lifting of restrictions, Cofix does not expect a full recovery of demand and revenues to 2019 levels.he Cofix network does not expect a full recovery of demand and revenue to the level of 2019. According to the company's representative, theeal incomes of Russians, к unfortunately, continue to decline, "which inevitably.leading to reduction expenditurespopulation to visit cafes and restaurants"..

"Nevertheless, we "continue to actively develop the network., "We're opening new... and entering new cities. The end of 2020 was marked by the opening of the first coffee shops Cofix in Yekaterinburg и Nizhny Novgorod Novgorodе. In March 2021 we returned to Kazan, а in Julyлwe are planning toin July we plan to open in Krasnodar and Sochi. In the near future, we will be opening 200 outlets Cofix in Russia. All in all we are optimistic about the future and hope for for the soonest On the whole, we are optimistic about the future and hope for a speedy resolution of the negative consequencesй of the pandemic as soon as possible," concluded the editorial interlocutor.

The first Cofix coffee shop in Russia opened in October 2016 in Moscow. Now Cofix in Russia has more than 190 outlets and is one of the top 10 largest coffee and pastry shop chains present in the domestic market. Currently Cofix coffee shops are open in Israel, Russia and Belarus. The company plans to expand to the markets of Poland, Germany, Great Britain, Latin America and Asia in the nearest future.

Made in Russia // Made in Russia

Author: Karina Kamalova