Fore Coffee: Antara Omzet Triliunan vs Margin yang Menipu

Revenue & Profitability (Key “Number Trap”)

• FY2024 sales: ~IDR 1.5 trillion
• Net profit: ~IDR 90 billion
• Implied net margin: ~6% (≈ IDR 6,000 net profit per IDR 100,000 revenue)

Message: The business can look “huge” on revenue, but coffee margins get squeezed by many layers of cost + discounts/promotions + post-operating expenses.

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What Fore Is “Really Selling” (Business Model Framing)

Not just coffee; the strategy is positioned as selling:

• Speed (high-throughput kiosks)
• Brand + experience (flagship stores)
• A repeat-purchase flywheel via the same app (owned customer data & loyalty)

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Store Operations & Two-Format Strategy (Tactics / Playbook)

Two Outlet Formats

• Kiosk (take-out / pickup)

  • Smaller footprint; cheaper rent
  • Designed for volume + fast transactions
  • App ordering + quick pickup flow

• Flagship (dine-in / hangout)

  • Larger space + developed interior
  • Designed to build brand attachment and improve experience

Typical Capex Components per Outlet

• Renovated commercial space
• Espresso machine (tens of millions IDR per unit)
• Refrigerator, grinder, POS/cash system, branding

Cost Magnitude

• “Can easily reach hundreds of millions IDR” per outlet (implied).

Operational Logic

• Kiosks optimize throughput
• Flagships optimize brand and dwell-time

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Cost Structure Breakdown (Why “Bean Cost” Is Misleading)

Ingredients (Not Just Beans)

• Coffee + milk + palm sugar + iced components + cup/lid
• Hidden cost sources people overlook: packaging/cups, dairy, palm sugar

Rent

• Ongoing monthly cost (retail real estate as major cost driver)

Labor

• Barista + cashier
• Monthly pay (described as “with a cut from each cup”)

Utilities + Equipment Maintenance

• Espresso machines run all day → electricity
• Wear/servicing + replacement parts

Delivery Channel Fees

• If ordered via motorcycle-taxi platforms (ojol), platform commissions/fees reduce seller proceeds

Promotions & Discount Wars

• Buy 1 get 1, cashback vouchers, continuous promos
• Result: promotional mechanics compress realized price, leading to thin net profit

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Profit Timeline: “Operational vs Net” Explanation

• Operational profit is described as several times greater than the final net margin (~6%)
• Why net drops further:
  • Depreciation (outlet interior/equipment wear over years)
  • Financial costs (interest)
  • Taxes and other burdens

Expansion interpretation: Thin net margin can be “normal” for a fast-scaling business where most resources go into growth.

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Growth Engine: Scale Math + Owned App (Core Strategy)

Scale Is the Multiplier

Profit per cup may be slim, but multiplied across:

• millions of glasses
• hundreds of outlets

Conclusion: volume business, not “high margin.”

App as a Strategic Asset

• Most sales via Fore’s own app

• Benefits described:

  • Customers and ordering behavior are owned (less reliance on ojol data)
  • Personalization/retention:
    • points
    • targeted discounts
    • discounts create behavioral “reasons to come back”
  • App framed as both:
    • ordering channel + retention tool

• Also improves upstream control:

  • tighter oversight “from raw materials”

Competitive Moat vs Large Players

• Larger scale → better procurement economics → harder for big competitors to be undercut (and for smaller players to match)

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Expansion & Capital Use (Execution Tactics)

• Going public (2025) and raising funds, with allocation toward:
  • opening new outlets

Growth isn’t only footprint expansion; also:

• higher sales per store
• higher transaction frequency
• higher average basket value
• digital sales growth
• overseas expansion to Singapore

Category Diversification Example

• Launching Foreut
  • Adds donuts
  • Goal: increase repeat-customer cart size
• Rationale given: selling additional items to existing visitors is cheaper than acquiring new customers

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Why Copying the Model Is Hard (Anti-“Just Replicate” Guidance)

Three advantages Fore has that small entrants can’t easily replicate:

1. Scale purchasing power / supply economics

   • Fore buys wholesale for many outlets → cheaper inputs
   • Independent shops face weaker bargaining + higher ingredient costs

2. Brand + app distribution

   • Fore app demand exists because the brand is already top-of-mind
   • New shops must spend more on advertising and may face higher platform commissions

3. Capital to fund “network ramp-up”

   • Fore can open stores that may be unprofitable initially
   • Benefits from time-to-scale: once the network grows, efficiency kicks in
   • Smaller players lack runway → cash dries up quickly (e.g., “quiet every two months”), leading to closures

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Actionable Takeaway for Entrepreneurs (Positioning)

The video reframes coffee shop success as:

• brand + scale + data + supply chain control + patience/capital

For new entrants:

• You’re not competing “a cup vs cup,” but against a networked machine (outlets + procurement + app + brand).

Practical warning implied: thin margins mean you must manage promos, delivery fees, unit economics, and depreciation/financing realities—not just ingredient cost.

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Presenters / Sources

• Presenter: Konglo (channel/creator name referenced in narration: “Welcome to Konglo”)

• Company discussed: Fore Coffee (also references Foreut and expansion to Singapore)