Three French entrepreneurs have launched a new gourmet cafe brand La Station in Hong Kong which they plan to expand into a chain.
The first La Station store, described as a flagship, opened this week at Queen’s Rd East in Wan Chai.
Co-founder Merwann Younes says the stores aim to present “a genuine European coffee experience” to Asian customers.
The cafes will serve high-quality coffee and fresh hand-made food, some of which is provided by Paul Lafayet.
Younes said the shop interior is decorated as a European train station, making a vivid statement about the brand. “It is like a train station where customers can commence a journey of new coffee experiences.”
Younes added: “Hong Kong people and the millions of visitors coming to this city have very high demand for quality coffee. With our link to Paul Lafayet, which is a family-owned business, I have ready experience in Hong Kong’s food and beverages industry. I see that the local coffee market still has a gap to fill in terms of quality and branding, so we set up La Station to add variety for customers.”
Younes said the owners want La Station to be “all about the total coffee experience” customers can get from the shop design, the overall atmosphere, the background music and the unique coffee quality.
“I believe Hong Kong offers us the right client base and a good leverage for us to expand to other parts of Asia.”
Associate director-general of investment promotion with InvestHK, Dr Jimmy Chiang, said that despite strong competition in the industry, the stories of Paul Lafayet and La Station show Hong Kong remains an attractive market for foreign investors.