The Barista Training Program

The program aims to cultivate talented employees with expertise in coffee and build up a knowledge sharing portal on coffee for our retail stores. This is a 2-day training of coffee testing, coffee beans production, terminology, brewing skills, and courses on management, marketing and promotion skills. Trainees passed the final examination would be certified as ‘Coffee Master. ‘Coffee Masters’ are responsible to transmit coffee knowledge and marketing skills to retail stores with potential in coffee market. President Chain Store Corporation expects that the Barista Training Program will improve employees’ identification with the CITY CAFE (private brand of President Chain Store Corporation’s fresh brew coffee product), their responsibility to the brand, and cultivate professional skills in coffee brewing and marketing in order to provide good taste of coffee and warm experience to our customers. We also expect that the training program will help to increase daily sales of coffee per store. As of 2023, there are 369 certified Coffee Masters and participating employees accounted for 5.15% of all employee FTEs. They are able to help to improve coffee quality and product marketing around President Chain Store Corporation’s retail stores. After consulting with master baristas, the average annual coffee revenue of these stores increased by 13.7% compared with the national average annual coffee revenue in 2022. The annual coffee revenue of each store with certified master baristas, experts or stores that received their assistance increased by 10.6%.

Ordering System Training Program

To ensure product diversification, reduce out-of-stock situations, and improve store operational efficiency to increase profits, President Chain Store Corporation has trained store employees to use the new ordering system and their data interpretation capabilities. We have organized the “Easy Operation” activity, providing education and training on the ordering system to employees working for directly-operated stores. It demonstrates and explains the formulas used in the ordering system, allowing participating employees to simulate how the ordering system operates. The goal of this training aims to improve the employees’ ability to use the ordering system and interpret data, so that the ordering system can achieve greater effectiveness, ensure product diversification, reduce out-of-stock situations, and improve store operational efficiency to increase profits.
In 2023, a total of 2,856 employees received training on how to use the ordering system, accounting for 39.45% of all FTEs. With the implementation of this training plan, the quarterly net gross profit of products ordered through the system also increased by 5% compared with the same period last year as the orders can be placed more accurately and in line with actual sales and consumer needs.