French Coffee Chain Columbus Café Exits Morocco After Six Years

After a six-year presence in Morocco, Columbus Café & Co has decided not to continue its Moroccan adventure. It had arrived in the kingdom through the franchisee RGMH, a structure owned by local entrepreneurs Hicham Rih and Marouane Ghanimi. What was surprising is that the French premium coffee group was preparing two years ago to expand outside Rabat, the city where it had installed its first flag, notes Challenge. It is thus turning its back on this ambition. The reasons for its departure remain, for the moment, unknown.

Would the strong competition from foreign brands in this rapidly growing premium coffee segment in Morocco be the reason for this decision? The specialist in carefully selected coffee varieties and homemade gourmet muffins is facing powerful competitors such as the American Starbucks, which has about twenty outlets in Morocco. It has been present in Morocco for about a dozen years.

Other major competitors: the Turkish coffee chain Espressolab, which already has thirteen outlets in the kingdom, or the Japanese 100% Arabica, the British Costa Coffee or the other Turkish Boost Coffee, which announced in June that it was considering expanding its Moroccan network with eight new outlets in the next 18 months.