Coffeeheaven, a chain of coffee and sandwich shops operating in Poland, is looking to expand in to the Czech Republic and Hungary

Coffeeheaven, a chain of coffee and sandwich shops operating in Poland, is looking to expand in to the Czech Republic and Hungary after seeing a 31 per cent jump in sales in its core market. But the Warsaw-based company, which has 14 outlets nationwide, said sales had slowed in the first four months of the year as hot weather kept customers away from the shopping centres where many of its shops are sited. Sales in the year to 31 March were up 31 per cent on a like-for-like basis, while sales in the four months to 31 July were up 23 per cent on a like-for-like basis. The company blamed the "exceptionally warm Spring weather" for the dip in current year sales, but noted that sales in outlets with al-fresco areas were up 32 per cent. Nevertheless, the growth has given Coffeeheaven, which opened its first shop in Poland in 1999, confidence that it can expand to 50 shops there by the end of 2006 and has spurred it on to open up in the Czech Republic and in Hungary.