As the Cofix café chain continues to expand across Israel, the cut-rate coffee house stirred up headlines this week in announcing its plans to open 1,000 branches in Russia.
Cofix opened its first storefront in Tel Aviv in October 2013. Since then, the coffee house that prides itself on selling everything on its menu for NIS 5 ($1.30), has opened hundreds of branches across the country.
In 2014, Cofix opened cheap, fixed-price bars in Israel. All beer, wine and liquor costs $1.30. In 2015, the Super Cofix — grocery stores selling produce at $1.30 or less – launched in the Israeli market.
In June of 2015, Cofix became the first café chain to be traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.
The successful business plan is now being copied to Russia. According to a statement released by Cofix, the company will open 300 storefronts in Moscow and 700 branches across the rest of the country.
The Cofix Group’s subsidiary, Urban Cofix, will run the Russian foray. The subsidiary recently signed an agreement with a private company led by Satesh Melwani and Mikhail and Grigory Perchersky to set up the Cofix cafes in Russia. According to the deal, Cofix will sell coffee, other drinks, pastries and sandwiches, all at the same price.
According to reports, Cofix is also eyeing the UK market.