Nestle teams up with Lacoste importer shareholder to open coffee shops in Bucharest

Nestle Swiss company, the biggest player on the instant coffee market with Nescafe, has teamed up with Georgios Repidonis, one of the shareholders in Lacoste importer in Romania, to open several coffee shops in Bucharest, with the first "halt" in Piaţa Romană, near Burger King restaurant, on the site of former Everest restaurant.

"The coffee shop will be named Nescafe Milano Cafe and it will be a novelty for the Romanian market both in terms of concept, brand and products," said Ştefan Neagoe, country business manager with Nestle Professional Romania.

The coffee shop will be operated by Dyonissos Group Greek company, in which Georgios Repidonis owns a 40% stake and has as partners Perdiki Panagiota (40%) and Valentin Trandafir (20%), according to Trade Registry data.

"We've invested around 200,000 euros in this coffee shop that will have an area of around 100 square metres without the patio that will have a seasonal character," said Georgios Repidonis. It will initially have 10 employees, with their number likely to rise once the patio is opened.