Imagine the Growth

Growing ties between New Zealand and China are giving new optimism to everyone from coffee chains and jade producers to organic farmers, universities, tour operators and real estate brokers. The increasing number of Chinese coffee drinkers is proving irresistible for some New Zealand-based chains, with Esquires – which has opened eight locations in China since 2009 – saying they hope to open 250 stores throughout the country by 2019. Ellen Zhang of Esquires says consumption patterns of the emerging middle class are reshaping the market completely: “In China we’ve got about 300 million middle class and they all love coffee and wine – imagine that.”