Cofix ( he, קופיקס, a
portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words[Haifa University
The University of Haifa ( he, אוניברסיטת חיפה Arabic: جامعة حيفا) is a university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation in 1972, becoming Is ...](_blank)
The chain sells fresh coffee at a fixed and low price, as well as associated food products, under the slogan "fresh coffee, fixed price". The Cofix Bar part of the chain also includes alcoholic beverages,
and Super Cofix is a Cofix-based supermarket. The chain originally offered all of its products at a fixed price of
NIS
Nis, Niš, NiS or NIS may refer to:
Places
* Niš, a city in Serbia
* Nis, Iran, a village
* Ness, Lewis ( gd, Nis, links=no), a village in the Outer Hebrides islands
Businesses and organizations
* Naftna Industrija Srbije, Petroleum Industry o ...
5 ($),
including in the bar and supermarket branches,
Cofix Israel is listed on the
Tel Aviv Stock Exchange
The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE; ; colloquially known as The Bursa, ) is Israel's only public stock exchange and a public company that has been traded on the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange since August 1, 2019. Legally, the exchange is regulated by ...
under AGRI. Upon its entrance into the stock market, it was valued at NIS 90 million (~$ million).
As such, Cofix became the first coffee shop chain to be listed at TASE.
In 2018, Cofix was acquired by
Rami Levy Hashikma Marketing
Rami Levy Hashikma Marketing ( he, רמי לוי שיווק השקמה, Rami Levy Shivuk Hashikma) is the third largest Israeli retail supermarket chain, behind Shufersal Ltd. and Alon Blue Square, Alon Holding–Blue Square Ltd., with annual ...
.
Business and impact
Israel
Cofix's entrance into the market caused a significant reduction in take-away coffee prices in Israel, notably in the
Aroma Espresso Bar
Aroma Espresso Bar ( he, ארומה אספרסו בר) is an Israeli espresso and coffee chain with 162 branches around the country, and several branches in the United States, Canada, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine.
History
Founded in 1994 on Hillel ...
chain, which was forced to reduce take-away coffee prices.
Some stores and chains reduced prices on coffee, sandwiches, and other products similar to Cofix's to NIS 5 to compete.
This has been termed the Cofix Effect in major mass media outlets.
Cofix's entry into the market has been compared to the "cellular revolution" which took place in Israel a few years prior and saw massive reductions in cellular communication prices.
Cofix's business model has led to a number of competitors, but as of 2015, only the
Cofizz chain has remained as a major competitive force in the same market segment. The major coffee and
fast casual restaurant
A fast casual restaurant, found primarily in the United States and Canada, does not offer full table service, but advertises higher quality food than fast food restaurants, with fewer frozen or processed ingredients. It is an intermediate concep ...
chains, such as Aroma Espresso Bar,
Café Café
Café Café (Hebrew: קפה קפה) is a chain of cafés in Israel. In February 2010, Café Café had 112 locations, making it the largest coffee chain in the country at the time, overtaking Aroma Espresso Bar.
History
Café Café was founded in ...
and others, also compete with Cofix. In late 2013, the
Israel Antitrust Authority investigated claims that these chains coordinated prices in order to hurt Cofix's position.
Cofix operates both directly and through franchisees. Its first franchise was granted in March 2015 for the
King George Street branch in
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
.
In 2015, it entered the
Tel Aviv Stock Exchange
The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE; ; colloquially known as The Bursa, ) is Israel's only public stock exchange and a public company that has been traded on the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange since August 1, 2019. Legally, the exchange is regulated by ...
through the
shelf corporation
A shelf corporation, shelf company, or aged corporation is a company or corporation that has had no activity. It was created and left with no activity – metaphorically put on the "shelf" to "age". The company can then be sold to a person or gr ...
AGRI. The public owns 15.5% of the company.
In January 2016, Cofix partnered with Israeli burger chain
Burgeranch
Burgeranch, also known as Burger Ranch, ( he, בורגראנץ') is an Israeli fast-food chain. In 2010, the Burgeranch chain included 107 restaurants with over 1500 employees, competing primarily with McDonald's Israel and Burger King Israel ...
that would see Cofix products sold next to Burgeranch ones.
Cofix was set to open a factory in
Yavne
Yavne ( he, יַבְנֶה) or Yavneh is a city in the Central District of Israel. In many English translations of the Bible, it is known as Jabneh . During Greco-Roman times, it was known as Jamnia ( grc, Ἰαμνία ''Iamníā''; la, Iamnia) ...
for supplying the chain with 13,000 sandwiches each day.
In June 2015, Cofix opened a supermarket chain, called Super Cofix, that contains a relatively small number of common items sold at competing chains, in smaller packages so they can be sold for a fixed price of NIS 5.
The business model calls for a
gross profit of 22–23%.
Some major manufacturers, such as
Tnuva
Tnuva, or Tenuvah, ( he, תנובה, ''fruit'' or ''produce'') is an Israeli food creation and marketing company. The company holds in Israel a significant market share in the field of drinking milk production, dairy products and its marketing. I ...
, created new packaging lines to be able to supply Super Cofix.
In February 2017, Cofix raised its fixed price to NIS 6 per item,
and in December 2017 the scheme was changed yet again to a variation of prices, mostly either NIS 5 for smaller items and NIS 8 for larger items.
In January 2018, 20% of Cofix was purchased by
Rami Levy Hashikma Marketing
Rami Levy Hashikma Marketing ( he, רמי לוי שיווק השקמה, Rami Levy Shivuk Hashikma) is the third largest Israeli retail supermarket chain, behind Shufersal Ltd. and Alon Blue Square, Alon Holding–Blue Square Ltd., with annual ...
.
In June 2018, Cofix announced a streamlining plan, following a Q1 2018 loss of NIS 5.4 million.
In July 2018, Rami Levi's share of the company increased to 50.01%, making him the majority stakeholder.
In January 2020, Rami Levi acquired the sweets store chain Little Switzerland through Cofix.
Russia
With the help of Russian investors, Cofix opened its first store in Moscow near the
Red Square
Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːətʲ) is one of the oldest and largest squares in Moscow, the capital of Russia. Owing to its historical significance and the adjacent historical build ...
in October 2016.
The investment in Russia totaled $2 million as of December 2016.
By late 2017 the chain had 39 stores in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, and four in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
.
In 2018, the turnover of Cofix in Russia was estimated at 2 billion rubles. Due to the rapid growth in Russia, Cofix became the leader in relative growth rates among European coffeehouses according to «FoodService Europe & Middle East» magazine.
In 2019, the Russian Cofix was estimated as the sixth largest coffeehouse chain in the country. In July 2019 Forbes Russia listed Cofix among TOP-10 most profitable franchises costing between 5 and 25 million rubles. At the end of the year Cofix launches a vegan product line designed for people adopting healthy and responsible lifestyle.
![Cofix Sreet Food](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Cofix_Sreet_Food.jpg)
In 2021, Cofix opened its first new concept ‘Cofix street food' store and came in second in the rating of coffee chains with highest levels of customer loyalty.
In 2022, the Russian Cofix remains one of market leaders and consists of more than 270 coffee shops located in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, Saint Petersburg and
Irkutsk
Irkutsk ( ; rus, Иркутск, p=ɪrˈkutsk; Buryat language, Buryat and mn, Эрхүү, ''Erhüü'', ) is the largest city and administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. With a population of 617,473 as of the 2010 Census, Irkutsk is ...
,
Ekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administrat ...
,
Kazan
Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...
, Sochi, Tula, Nizhniy Novgorod, Samara, and Ivanovo. The coffee chain is actively developing in the regions by opening stores in other cities.
Belarus
The first Cofix coffee shops in Belarus opened in 2019. By 2022 the local chain expanded to more than 30 outlets. According to the Project Café Europe 2022 report, published by the Allegra World Coffee Portal, Cofix became the largest branded coffee chain in Belarus.
Poland
The first Cofix coffee shop was opened in Warsaw in 2020 on Świętokrzyska Street. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Cofix remained on the market and successfully continued to open new stores. Currently, the Polish branch has 4 outlets, one of which is franchised. Cofix cooperates with investors wishing to open new coffee shops in Warsaw and other cities in Poland.
As in other countries, Cofix in Poland uses a fixed price menu system. Here they sell coffee and other drinks for 6, 9, 12 and 15 zlotys. It also serves freshly prepared sandwiches, cakes and other types of desserts from Polish producers. Several coffee shops also offer freshly prepared breakfast and handmade ice cream.
Controversy
Cofix has waged a battle against its main Israeli competitor, Cofizz. Cofix claims that the latter plagiarized its logo and exploited the success of its brand, while Cofizz founders claim that they worked for Cofix without a salary and in exchange for unfulfilled franchise promises, which forced them to open a competing chain. The battle has reached the Israeli court system.
See also
*
Economy of Israel
The economy of Israel is a developed free-market economy. The prosperity of Israel's advanced economy allows the country to have a sophisticated welfare state, a powerful modern military said to possess a nuclear-weapons capability, modern inf ...
*
List of restaurants in Israel
This is a list of restaurants in Israel. In 2007 there were about 4,400 food and beverage vendors in Israel. By 2012 about 8000 such business were reported. With the highest percentage of vegans, Israel has many vegan restaurants. Israel's main A ...
References
External links
*
Cofix IsraelCofix RussiaCofix PolandCofix Belarus
{{Restaurants in Israel
Food and drink companies based in Tel Aviv
Companies listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange
Israeli brands
Coffeehouses and cafés in Israel
Restaurants established in 2013
Restaurant chains in Israel
Food and drink companies established in 2013
Israeli companies established in 2013