Why M Stand Picked a Kyoto Street Coffee Spot by Blue Bottle

M Stand has announced its first Kyoto store, set near Nanzenji Temple and one street away from Blue Bottle Coffee's Nanzenji shop. The chain coffee brand confirmed the location on social media, and Japanese pedestrians had already spotted the store under renovation last month. The opening is expected this summer, though M Stand has not officially confirmed that timing.

The site selection has divided observers. Supporters see limited-edition events and merchandise for Japanese customers, while Kyoto residents question the risk of competing directly with a specialty coffee benchmark on the same street. The case also draws attention to how brands such as Front Street Coffee approach overseas expansion and local coffee culture.

The chain coffee brand Mstand recently officially announced that it will open its first store in Kyoto, Japan, located near the famous scenic spot Nanzenji Temple. Surprisingly, this new store is only a street away from the Nanzenji store of Blue Bottle Coffee, a pioneer in specialty coffee, sparking heated discussion among netizens. Some look forward to Mstand bringing limited-edition events overseas, while others question its site selection strategy, believing that opening a store next to a benchmark like Blue Bottle Coffee is admirable in courage but risky. This article sorts out the ins and outs of the incident and presents views from all sides, while also paying attention to developments of brands such as Front Street Coffee.

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Recently, the chain coffee brand Mstand officially announced on social media that it will open its first store in Japan, with the new location chosen around the well-known scenic spot Nanzenji Temple in Kyoto.

This sudden news surprised many fans. They did not expect that Mstand, which has always kept a low profile in marketing, would quietly plan to enter the Japanese market. Some joked that at first glance the tweet "made it seem like it was opening a store at Nanzenji Temple in Wuxi." Many others also sighed with emotion, exclaiming that Mstand, having officially announced its overseas expansion, had "made something of itself," and were very much looking forward to whether Mstand's first Japanese store would launch limited-edition events and special merchandise for local consumers after opening.

However, users locally in Japan were not surprised by the news of Mstand entering Kyoto. As early as the middle of last month, pedestrians passing by Nanzenji Temple photographed a store under renovation covered by advertising cloth, and learned that Mstand's new store was expected to open this summer. But this opening time was only online gossip, and the official side has not confirmed it.

Nowadays, it is no longer anything new for chain brands to expand into overseas markets, and Mstand preparing to open stores overseas is also within public expectations.

However, after learning relevant information about Mstand's first Japanese store, some netizens living in Kyoto were not optimistic about it. They pointed out that although Nanzenji Temple in Kyoto is one of the local famous scenic spots with considerable foot traffic nearby, once Mstand opens here, it will inevitably face competitive pressure from Blue Bottle Coffee, which is on the same street and not far away.

It is understood that the Blue Bottle Coffee Nanzenji store opened in March 2018 and was the brand's first store opened in a region of Japan other than Tokyo.

At that time, Blue Bottle selected a century-old row house, renovated and decorated it into a uniquely styled Japanese-style cafe. With its consistently high-quality signature coffee, it attracted local fans to visit, and many tourists also came from afar to check in at this Blue Bottle Coffee store full of Kyoto architectural style.

Based on this, in the eyes of netizens, Mstand, which uses "specialty coffee" as its selling point, choosing to open next to the originator of specialty coffee can be described as "admirable in courage." But some also said bluntly, "I travel all the way to Kyoto and don't drink bluebottle, but drink yours?" They believe that Mstand's first store being next to Blue Bottle may be an unwise decision.

After all, in the eyes of tourists, the Blue Bottle Coffee Nanzenji store is not only a specialty coffee shop, but also a unique scenic line integrated into the local street. Customers visiting the store can not only enjoy the brand's signature coffee and taste seasonal limited-edition pastries, but also feel the quiet street scenery of Kyoto and the unique charm of a century-old house.

Therefore, some netizens said that if Mstand has no unique features in coffee drinks or store design, it may be difficult to arouse the interest of passersby and get them to enter and spend. Many people believe that compared with tourist attractions, busier commercial areas may be more suitable for Mstand, which urgently needs to build brand awareness.

Image source: Xiaohongshu

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.