The race to 'go to the Saigon riverbank' of the 3 giants Katinat, Highlands and Starbucks

The Bach Dang Wharf Park area, next to the Saigon Waterbus wharf, has recently attracted attention when the three coffee giants Katinat, Highlands and Starbucks appeared together and became an attractive stopover in Ho Chi Minh City. On the other side of the Saigon River, the riverside park area of ​​Thu Duc City is no exception when Katinat, Starbucks, and Highlands all have shops with attractive river views.

Katinat goes first

Nearly 2 years ago, the first Katinat cafe at Bach Dang wharf opened, causing a stir among the city's youth. Opened at the beginning of the new year, this place became an attractive destination as young people competed for a spot to watch fireworks on the occasion of New Year 2023 and Lunar New Year.

Katinat Waterbus Linh Dong - Thu Duc is 1,600m2 wide, no different from a romantic camping area. (Photo: Katinat)

Booking seats to watch fireworks on holidays and Tet has also become a service of Katinat. On the occasion of April 30 and September 2, customers who want to have a comfortable seat by the river to watch fireworks pay 200,000 - 299,000 VND depending on the cake and drink combo used. Although the price is not cheap, the shops with fireworks viewing service of this coffee - tea chain are always full early.

Not only on holidays or weekends, on weekdays, the cafe with a direct view of the Saigon River is always crowded with customers, especially early mornings and late afternoons. That is why when it first opened, when other branches of the chain closed at 11pm - 11:30pm, the Bach Dang wharf cafe was open until 2am to serve young people and tourists.

In early 2024, the second riverside restaurant of this chain will continue to appear right in the center of the Saigon River park in Thu Thiem, opposite Bach Dang Wharf. With a prime location, the restaurant has a beautiful view of the poetic Saigon River and famous landmarks such as Saigon Bridge, Bitexco Building, Landmark 81, marina...

In particular, this restaurant has a spacious outdoor space, very suitable for large gatherings, every corner serves the need for virtual living, so it is very popular with young people and tourists.

This is also considered the most romantic place to watch the sunset on the Saigon River in the city. A familiar image at this restaurant is a long line of customers waiting in front of the counter to order, even though the parking location is not convenient.

Katinat Ben Binh An opened in April this year at Binh An Waterbus Station, Thu Duc City, is also a riverside address that makes young people flutter, because it has a view of the sunset and Landmark 81. This is also an address where this chain applies the fireworks viewing service.

Katinat with a series of shops on both banks of the Saigon River with a panoramic view of the city and iconic buildings attracts a lot of customers. (Photo: Luong Y)

This famous coffee chain has not stopped its ambition to "go to the riverside" due to the huge demand of customers. At the end of October, a new location appeared on the Saigon River in Thu Duc City, making young people restless. Katinat Waterbus Linh Dong station has an area of ​​up to 1,600m2, embracing the riverside, becoming a destination for families in the evenings and on weekends.

According to the representative of the construction unit, QDC Company, the project was completed in 35 days, possessing a rare prime location with a beautiful sunset view on the banks of the Saigon River, not unlike a cool and romantic camping area. This is a destination that represents the new direction of the coffee-tea chain, when not only investing in luxury stores in central areas but also expanding outdoor spaces in special locations.

This coffee shop has been making waves over the past month.

Nha Tien and her husband in Tan Phu district, more than 20 kilometers away, also do not hesitate to invite friends to have coffee on the weekend.

She said the space of the riverside cafe is very special; at night, thousands of sparkling lights illuminate the riverbank and the green trees cover it, the wind blowing from the Saigon River is cool. Ms. Tien and her husband said that they sit in the air conditioner all day, so they go to a cafe by the river to breathe in the fresh natural air outside. She and her friends are regular customers of riverside cafes, most of which are of this emerging brand.

Starbucks, Highlands impatient

Starbucks has also recently joined the race to open new stores on the banks of the Saigon River. At Bach Dang Wharf Park, sharing the Katinat wall, the American coffee giant has appeared with an impressively designed store right at the Waterbus wharf in early September 2024.

Starbucks is not inferior to Katinat. Although it came after more than a year, it already has 3 "quality" stores with beautiful river views on both sides of the river in District 1 and Thu Duc. (Photo: Starbucks WaterBus Thu Thiem)

This store is advertised as being located in a very hot location with a cool, fresh view of the Saigon River. And not to miss the prime location, Starbucks Waterbus Bach Dang also has a fireworks viewing service.

In August 2024, this coffee brand also made coffee lovers excited when it launched what is considered the most beautiful store at Waterbus Thu Thiem - Thu Duc City. The shop is located right at Hoa Huong Duong Park, and is considered by many to have one of the rare "million dollar" views on the Saigon River, overlooking the entire city with Ba Son Bridge and iconic buildings in the central area.

The restaurant is not elaborately designed with simple wooden tables and chairs, mostly black, but the highlight that attracts customers is the panoramic view of the Saigon River. Customers can comfortably enjoy peaceful moments with the poetic river next to high-rise buildings.

Because of the advantage of embracing the river view, Starbucks WaterBus Thu Thiem invested in a very green, spacious and airy outdoor seating area, crowded with customers from early morning to late at night. The busiest time is in the afternoon, when young people in the city jostle to check-in, watch the sunset and relax, admiring the vibrant city with its sparkling lights at night.

In March, this giant also set up a destination by the Saigon River at the hottest coffee corner in the center of District 1 on Ton Duc Thang Street. Satrbucks The Waterfront is located in a high-end building with a special location with a panoramic view of the Saigon River and Ba Son Bridge.

Highlands, despite having the advantage of being present in many prime locations, seems to be lagging behind in the race for space on the Saigon River. This giant has just opened a fairly spacious store at Pier 2, Bach Dang Wharf Park, District 1, next to Starbucks and Katinat.

In newly opened buildings in the Ba Son area, this chain also quickly established its presence, but the store location is not equal to the American giant Starbucks.

Highlands seems to be slow in the race for Saigon River views, but it already has a restaurant located right at Pier 2, Bach Dang Wharf Park. (Photo: H. Linh)

With experience in research and consulting in the F&B industry, expert Nguyen Anh Quan commented that the area on both sides of the Saigon River is not a rare place to open F&B shops. In fact, on the other side of the river in Thao Dien - Thu Duc City, many restaurants, bars and cafes have opened, attracting a large number of customers to experience the tropical style. Around the Saigon Bridge area, there are also riverside cafe models.

The advantage of riverside F&B is that it has a cool space, a wide view, suitable for the entertainment needs of the majority of residents. Mr. Quan said that it is interesting that the current market leading chains compete to locate around the Saigon River, showing that the demand for these shops is very high.

It can be noticed that in recent years, all three giants Highlands Coffee, Starbucks Coffee, and Katinat have tended to look for prime locations, which are symbolic of the city's tourism. It is not too difficult to understand why they appear together when the land for rent is still vacant.

With Katinat, this expert believes that the chain is really developing rapidly, with a series of prime locations. The special areas along the river, Me Linh Square roundabout have recently been exploited by KATINAT Coffee & Tea House. The nature of this location is a place that attracts many people, a transit point between districts, with heavy traffic, and a famous tourist boat dock.

Exploiting this location naturally becomes effective, including international tourists staying at famous hotels in the center of Ho Chi Minh City Hilton, Renaissance Riverside, Majestic Saigon... domestic guests as well as a large number of office workers in the surrounding buildings Me Linh Point, Vietcombank Tower...

Heavy traffic also increases brand awareness and brand positioning, and the above factors demonstrate the learnable strategy of the young brand Katinat.

As of early December 2024, Katinat had 85 stores, an increase of 20 stores compared to early June 2024. Ho Chi Minh City still dominates with 61 stores, an increase of 10 stores compared to June. This chain is also continuously expanding in key tourist cities such as Hue, Da Lat, Nha Trang, Da Nang, etc.

Although Starbucks has recently closed some stores in prime locations in the center of Ho Chi Minh City, the number of new stores has also increased sharply. As of December 6, the chain had 119 stores, of which 58 were in Ho Chi Minh City, 36 were in Hanoi, and the remaining 25 were in other provinces and cities, and also opened in key tourist areas.

Highlands has also opened rapidly recently and has reached 826 points of sale, an increase of about 50 stores compared to June, of which Ho Chi Minh City alone has 286 stores. This giant is present in all special locations such as the city center and large commercial centers.

Ha Linh

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/cuoc-dua-ra-bo-song-sai-gon-cua-3-ong-lon-katinat-highlands-va-starbucks-ar911956.html