China's postal system is going into the cafe business, with a plan to set up coffee shops in China Post branches where customers can add a latte to their mailing needs.
The first one opened in Xiamen, Fujian Province in February, and Beijing's first opened a little over a week ago. More will be added around the country, taking advantage of China Post's thousands of locations. Post Coffee signs, in the same color scheme as the post office, have been added.
"The post office will no longer be a simple place for postal services. It's more about a social setting where people can try premium coffee drinks and experience postal culture. We would like to build a new post office image that is associated with fun, fashion and diversity," Post Coffee said in a statement on its official Weibo account.
They're not the only ones looking at China's fast-growing demand for coffee. Other companies, including a sportswear company, China's leading oil refiner and a traditional-medicine pharmacy have all established coffee shops in addition to their main business.
Hu Lu, vice-chairman of the Coffee Association of Yunnan, said that the domestic coffee industry is growing at a fast pace, driven by demand from young consumers. He added that for non-beverage enterprises entering the coffee market, what they really desire is not additional revenue but a closer connection with the post-1990 and-2000 generations.
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