"Even on the Way to Work, There Are Lines at the 'Yellow Sign'... Mega MGC Coffee Achieves KRW 400 Million Sales Per Store with KRW 1,500 Coffee"

41.287 Million Won per Store Last Year, Up 6.3% Year-on-Year

Average Sales per Pyeong Hit 23.69 Million Won... Seoul Leads the Pack

Low-cost coffee brand Mega MGC Coffee surpassed 400 million won in average sales per franchise store last year for the first time. As prolonged inflation continues to drive consumers toward affordable coffee options,Mega MGC Coffee has exceeded 4,000 stores within 10 years since the business started and continues on a growth trajectory.

According to the data on franchise business transactions from the Korea Fair Trade Commission released on September 8, the average sales per Mega MGC Coffee franchise owner last year were 412.87 million won, a 6.3% year-on-year increase. Calculated based on the price of a hot Americano (1,500 won), this means a single store sells approximately 275,250 cups annually, or 755 cups per day. The average sales per 3.3 square meters (1 pyeong) for Mega MGC Coffee franchise owners reached 23.69 million won, which is a 5.7% increase from the previous year. Over the past five years, the average sales per store have risen by 25.5%, while per-pyeong sales increased by 17.0%.

Stores of domestic low-cost coffee brands located in a building in Jongno-gu, Seoul. From the left, Mega MGC Coffee, Compose Coffee, and Paik’s Coffee. Photo by Huh Younghan

An official from Mega MGC Coffee explained, "The trend toward rational consumption in an era of high inflation has played a significant role," adding, "At the same time, differentiated seasonal menu launches reflecting trends, IP collaborations, and partnership marketing have created synergy, which led to attracting new consumers and driving repeat visits."

It is unusual for a domestic coffee franchise to record over 400 million won in sales per outlet. As of 2024, the only brand with higher sales per store than Mega MGC Coffee is Twosome Place, recording an average of 571.73 million won per location. However, Twosome Place sells a hot Americano at 4,700 won, which is more than three times higher than the price at Mega MGC Coffee. Taking this into account, annual hot Americano sales per Twosome Place store are approximately 120,000 cups, which is less than half of what Mega MGC Coffee sells. In terms of per-pyeong average sales, Twosome Place was recorded at 10.01 million won in 2024.

Rival brands Paik’s Coffee and Compose Coffee recorded average franchise sales of 324.49 million won and 271.88 million won for 2024, respectively, with per-pyeong averages at 20.52 million won and 18.03 million won. Although the growth of low-cost coffee brands is evident, both Paik’s Coffee and Compose Coffee underperformed Mega MGC Coffee in terms of sales growth. In some cases, the sales figures even surpassed those of popular brands selling tteokbokki or chicken, which generally have a higher per-product price than coffee.

By region, Seoul, with 23.5% of stores—second only to Gyeonggi-do (33.4%)—recorded the highest average sales per store and per pyeong. In Seoul, the average franchise sales per store reached 461.87 million won, nearly 50 million won above the overall average. Per-pyeong sales in Seoul were 28.77 million won, 5.08 million won higher than the average. This reflects strong demand for low-cost coffee among office workers and students in Seoul. The region with the lowest average sales was South Gyeongsang, at 318.89 million won per store and 18.97 million won per pyeong.

After opening its first store in 2015, Mega MGC Coffee has rapidly expanded nationwide, propelled by the trend of consumers choosing more affordable coffee amid persistent inflation. According to data released by Mega MGC Coffee, there were 4,016 total stores last year, with 98.8% (3,969 stores) operating as franchises. Disclosure documents show the number of Mega MGC Coffee stores increased from 2,709 in 2022, 3,360 in 2023, to 4,016 in 2024. With about 20 new stores opening each week this year, the total number of outlets is expected to surpass 4,500 by the second half of the year.

An official from Mega MGC Coffee stated, "With regard to store expansion, we carefully analyze commercial districts when opening new locations to minimize their impact on the business rights of existing stores. We also review whether both existing and new stores can generate stable profits as a key criterion."

Mega MGC Coffee is scaling up as a representative low-cost coffee brand as the market polarizes into premium and ultra-low-price segments. The company solidified its position by focusing on high-foot-traffic locations and residential or office areas, while launching numerous small-format, takeout stores nationwide. Recently, Mega MGC Coffee has not only diversified its low-cost coffee products but also launched ready-to-eat meals to enjoy with coffee in-store, leveraging K-pop, characters, and other intellectual property. As a result, the operator of Mega MGC Coffee, MGC Global, posted sales of 646.93592 billion won and an operating profit of 111.4 billion won last year, reflecting year-on-year increases of 30.4% and 3.5%, respectively.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.