Why Tim Hortons vies for top spot in Singapore's 'third place' Western coffee scene

Capturing this market is better than competing directly with kopitiams and grab-and-go concepts.

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For Tim Hortons, dominating ‘third place’ in Singapore’s Western coffee market scene is its main strategy to compete against local coffee brands and grab-and-go models with cheaper options “Third places,” as described by sociologist Ray Oldenburg, are locations that facilitate social interaction, usually a public place people frequent. This often refers to places where people spend time aside from their homes (first place) or work (second place). Coffee shops and cafes with relaxed atmospheres are often called third-place locations.

Tim Hortons Singapore CEO Vaibhav Punj said that capturing this market is better than competing directly with kopitiams, new age cafes and coffee roasters, and a recent spike of grab-and-go coffee concepts who just entered the market.

“The size of the piece is quite big as well. We think we can build a very successful business in Singapore,” Punj said.

“Singapore is an interesting market. There are three very clear markets, the Central Business District (CBD), the heartland malls, and the tourist-specific malls like Sentosa and Orchard. We are looking at all these clusters and we intend to open 10 to 15 restaurants going forward,” Punj said.