Chatime Malaysia, one of the pioneer and first bubble milk tea in Malaysia will close all their 165 outlets starting from March 2017 this year.
**Image from Chatime Facebook
Chatime Malaysia’s chief executive officer, Bryan Loo said that his company will perform rebranding process for all his current Chatime outlets.
“While we seek legal advice to protect our legitimate rights and interests under the franchise agreement which only runs out in 2041, we are very much concerned over what will happen to these 1,000 over workers and their dependents.
“Although our agreement with them still has 24 years to go, they had unilaterally served us a termination letter on Jan 5.
“We have lodged a police report against La Kaffa for the sudden termination and we will let the authorities take the necessary action according to the law.
“Right now, we are operating as usual and all our workers and sub-franchisees are assured of continued employment and consumers can continue to enjoy our offerings.
“Our team is in close consultations with the workers, partners and associates to work out a common future for all of us,” he added.
For now, the 165 Chatime outlets here will still remain as they are until March 6 – when the 45-day cooling-off period agreed upon by both companies ends.
After which, the outlets will be rebranded under a new name, though Loo said it would not differ significantly from the Chatime concept.
It will still sport a purple logo, albeit in a different colour scheme, and will still specialise in tea drinks, though Loo said Loob was now free to experiment with new beverages.
“We are no longer restricted to just bubble tea. We can also provide fresh juices and artisanal coffee,” he said.
**above caption is from The Star
