Caffe Bene’s goal is to open 10,000 stores by 2020, mainly by focusing on its core competence coffee making, said Kim Sun-kwon, the founder and CEO of Caffe Bene, at a ceremony to open the 1,000th Caffe Bene store on Monday.

Caffe Bene is one of the few Korean coffee chains with enough ammunition and ambition to compete with overseas-based rivals such as Starbucks and Coffee Bean.

“This was based on my conclusion that in order to expand overseas, a stable domestic operation is the most critical precondition,” Kim said. 

As a part of such efforts, Caffe Bene plans on streamlining financial operations by spinning off its restaurant chain, Blacksmith and its bakery chain Mainzdom as a part its efforts.

The company also plans to go public with an IPO next year.

“Caffe Bene alone has good finances, with its global loyalty fees reaching up to $10 million,” Kim said. The situation would further improve when the firm receives promised investments from a Chinese angel-investor within this month he added.

Caffe Bene operates 87 stores in China and plans on raising the number to 1,000 by 2014.

Globally, the firm is in a myriad of countries including Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and Vietnam. Europe, Hong Kong and Australia are next.

Regarding Mainzdom, Kim said the bakery business must go hand in hand with Caffe Bene, indicating the business would not be abandoned despite rumors that he is planning on selling the unit.

On the contrary, the firm plans on placing Mainzdom within Caffe Bene outlets in “shop-in-shop” form, starting with the branch in Seoul’s trendy Apgujeong neighborhood. Kim added that Mainzdom was the reason why he was able to beef up the bakery unit in Caffe Bene’s FIT branch in New York City.

By Kim Ji-hyun (jemmie@heraldcorp.com)