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March 2000

Cafes

More than eating

By Lauren Li and Ritly Ma

Imagine a place where you can surf the Internet, read a book, or even have a haircut while enjoying free snacks and drinks.

This place combines a shop with a cafe. And these so-called “shopcafes” are budding in Hong Kong.

Salon Esprit is a case in point. It aims at providing customer-oriented services.

Mr. Sean Lam is the principal of education of the future hairstyling school of Salon Esprit.

Said he: “Some customers have to spend long hours here to perm their hair or have colour treatment.

“Having some snacks, instead of just sitting in the salon and waiting, is less boring for them,” he said.

Ms Fann Chan, the personal assistant of Mr. Kim Robinson and the chief stylist of Salon Espirt, does not think that this customer-oriented service goes against the moneymaking principle.

“The cafe may increase the initial cost of the salon.

“But in the long run, it is profitable since it attracts more customers.

“We provide them with a gathering place. Some people love coming here with their friends. It is inconvenient for them to chat with one another in the salon seats, which are not connected,” she said.

Eureka Bookshop, another example of shopcafe, is a small scale, family-based business.

Mr. Charles Chan is the owner of the bookshop.

Said he: “My partner and I want to provide customers with a spacious, free and comfortable place to read.

“So we set up a little cafe for our customers to relax, to read and to have a cup of coffee.”

“They like the atmosphere here so they come frequently,” he said.

In order to integrate the shop and the cafe naturally, both Salon Esprit and Eureka Bookshop have some special decoration.

Mr. Lam of Salon Esprit said they have adopted a “eco-techno” design style.

“‘Eco’ comes from ‘ecology’ and ‘techno’ comes from ‘technology’.

“The decoration is a combination of cyber feelings and nature,” he said. “Neutralizing these two things is the best.”

The harmonious atmosphere and the combination of services result in positive comments on their services.

In Eureka Bookshop, hanging lamps are used to integrate the shop and the cafe.

Said its owner, Mr. Chan: “The red walls in the cafe can only be emphasized and harmonized by the lamps, which give off a mild yellowish light.”

Despite the decoration and design, the drinks and snacks served in the cafe are free of charge. Mr. Chan said that it is still profitable.

Said he: “After drinking coffee and buying nothing a few times, the customers feel embarrassed and then they buy some books.”

However, in order to accommodate the cafe, space for books is sacrificed. Said he: “The books in my shop are less diverse because there is not enough space for bookshelves.

“We lack some books that our customers need because the cafe occupies some space.

“This affects our competitiveness directly,” he said.

Apart from shopcafes, cybercafes are another type of multi-purpose cafe.

Shadowman Cyber cafe started in June last year.

“Cybercafes are much more sophisticated than just putting computers next to dinner tables,” said Mr. Alex Cheng, the manager of Shadowman Cyber cafe.

Mr. Cheng’s partner recognized the trend of cybercafes in other countries and they decided to follow suit.

While shopcafes provide free cafe service, cybercafes charge their customers.

In Shadowman, there are five iMAC computers. Customers buying any food or drink can have 20-minutes of free access to the Internet.

Customers can also surf the net even if they order nothing, but they have to pay a higher charge.

Most of Shadowman’s customers are expatriates.

“We provide a place for them to keep in touch with their families and friends through e-mail.”

Mrs. Helen Davis, a first-time customer of Shadowman, applauded its service.

“The service here is good. The staff is very helpful and the charges are reasonable,” said Mrs. Davis.

Mrs. Davis came from New Zealand for business, and she discovered the cybercafe through the Hong Kong Tourist Association.

Said she: “I use the Internet to keep in touch with my children and handle business errands.

“It is very convenient to do so in Shadowman.”

Mrs. Davis also compared cybercafes in Hong Kong with those in other countries.

She has visited Canada, Australia and the United States.

“Actually all are very much the same, except that those in the States are bigger. Also, the waiting time during rush hours is longer than in Hong Kong,” she said.

According to Mr. Cheng, customers always give him great ideas.

Said he: “A Korean customer suggested installing games because they are popular in the cybercafes in his country.”

Mr. Cheng said customer feedback is welcome and because of such comments, his cybercafe will improve.

“This is also an advantage for us because our relationship with the customers is good. They are just like friends,” said Mr. Cheng.

Shadowman and Esprit opened only last year.

However, shopcafes have long been a trend in the West, according to Prof. Pedro Ng of the Department of Sociology at The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

“Shopcafes immigrated to Hong Kong because of the increasing number of Hong Kong people living in or travelling to Western countries,” Prof. Ng said.

Prof. Ng said that the shopping patterns in shopcafes have already existed in many shopping malls in Hong Kong.

In malls like the Pacific Place, a combination of shops and food courts can be seen.

“Of course the scale there is larger than those of the shopcafes,” he said.

Prof. Ng said that the emergence of shopcafes in Hong Kong is also due to the daily habits of the Hong Kong people.

“Shopcafes provide with us a chance to shop, eat and relax under limited leisure time,” he said.

Added he: “Our living pace is so fast that we have to pack things together and do them all at once.”

According to Prof. Ng, shopcafes have one main advantage over other shops without cafes inside.

“Shopcafes provide customers with a choice.

“Customers can stay longer in that informal and friendly atmosphere,” Prof. Ng said.

Prof. Ng believed that there is enough room for the expansion of these multi-purpose cafes in Hong Kong.

Said he: “It is a matter of diversity. The infiltration and combination of shops and cafes go along with the changing living patterns of Hong Kong people.

“People tend to do different things in the same place.

“Therefore, I believe that this kind of shopcafe can last long in Hong Kong,” he said.

The cafes may not only last long, but also grow larger.

In Salon Esprit, the expansion of the number of outlets is one of its marketing strategies, said Mr. Lam.

“We will expand our business in Southeast Asia later,” Mr. Lam said.

However, Eureka Bookshop’s Mr. Chan said that they do not have any expansion plan.

Said he: “Of course I want to open more branches.

“But I’m not sure if there will also be a shopcafes to compete with us or not,” he said.

Added he: “It all depends on decoration, style, design and our capital.”

Shadowman Cybercafe’s Mr. Alex Cheng also has thought of expansion.

“I’m looking for a bigger place since we need to put more computers here,” he said.

In a world where terms like “integration” and “multi-purpose” are widespread, the cafe has turned out to be just one more of thing devoured by this irresistible trend.

 

 

 

 



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To provide a more comfortable environment for customers, Eureka Bookshop has set up a cafe corner in the bookshop. (Lauren Li)

 

 

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A customer reads in the cafe corner of Eureka Bookshop. (Lauren Li)

 

 

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Cybercafes provide not only food and beverages, but also Internet access for their customers. (Ritly Ma)

 

 

Internet Links:
Department of Sociology
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong Tourist Association
Eureka Bookshop

 









 



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