BinHendi Enterprises hosts Second Cup's 2nd Middle East Convention in Dubai

Presided by Steven Tsambalieros, Chief Operating Officer and Mark Cunningham Vice President International Operations and Business development, the day long convention was attended by franchisee representatives from across the Middle East.

Held in October each year, the key objective of the convention is to review the brand's current retail development and take strategic decisions regarding its regional expansion initiatives. Given the tremendous customer response to Second Cup cafes, as well as the rising popularity of the brand, Second Cup have announced plans to add 20 new outlets to its regional portfolio before the end of 2008, bringing the total to 60 cafes in the Middle East. This will include 3 new outlets in Jordan, Bahrain and Syria and 5 in the UAE including Dubai Media City, Dubai International Airport, Dubai Mall, Stargate and Sharjah University School of Medicine.

Commenting on the growth plans, Mohi-Din Binhendi, President of BinHendi Enterprises, said:

"Second Cup's distinctly Canadian identity and ambience and its product line of 30 premium coffees have successfully established a strong following among coffee lovers in the region. With additional outlets, we hope to fill a growing demand for our products and capture a bigger share of this increasingly competitive market. Our prospects for future growth are very strong, given our history and dramatic growth since we launched the brand four years ago."

This year's convention coincides with several regional achievements, the most notable being the opening of the largest Second Cup cafe in the world in KSA and the launch of the first Second Cup School of Business in the Middle East at the BinHendi Enterprises head office in Dubai.

Designed to enhance the company's human resource pool across the region, The Second Cup School of Business is the regional training hub imparting fundamental knowledge, skills, and processes to new Franchise Partners, Operation Managers, Café Managers, Lead Agents and Baristas.

Amongst other delegates, the convention was attended by Omer Demir Regional Manager for Turkey and Middle East, Mohi Din BinHendi President BinHendi Enterprises, Amna BinHendi CEO, Mokhles Bustami VP Hospitality Division, Mohamed Dahab Franchise Development Manager and the UAE operations Managers.