Vie de France Bakery Shops Evolving into Cafes.

Vie de France, a subsidiary of Yamazaki Baking, is hurrying to transform its shops from takeout retailers of fresh-baked bread to sit-down cafes with full drink menus. Between conversion of existing shops and the building of new shops, the company expects to have 10 such cafes ready by the end of the year and 30 by the new fiscal year. Management forecasts that the new format will better attract customers and boost sales within five years by 30% to 30 billion yen. The updated shops will be equipped with espresso machines and have seating for as many …