The move to close its six outlets next month comes six weeks after Flash Coffee also exited the increasingly competitive Singaporean market
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The coffee chain will close its two stores at the National University of Singapore on 15 December | Photo credit: Tim Mossholder
Spinelli Coffee is reportedly closing its six outlets in Singapore following successive annual losses.
The Business Times (BT) reported that the coffee chain will close its two stores at the National University of Singapore on 15 December, with its remaining four stores set to cease operations before the end of the year.
Spinelli Coffee incurred successive losses between 2018 to 2022, according to filings seen by BT. However, the business narrowed its net loss last year to S$839,638 ($630,000) compared to S$1m ($750,000) in 2021. The coffee chain posted sales of S$1.8m ($1.3m) in 2022.
Founded as a roastery in San Francisco in 1983, Spinelli Coffee opened its first coffee shop in Singapore in 1996 via a franchise agreement with hotel group YTC Corporation.
The move also affects Spinelli Coffee’s sister brand, Daily Grind, which will shut its four stores. However, its third brand, single-store Brewing Kakis, remains open at the Standard Chartered Bank in Changi Business Park Crescent.
A major trading hub and financial centre, Singapore has become an attractive market for international operators this year, with China’s Luckin Coffee, Indonesian pair Kopi Kenangan and Fore Coffee and South Korea’s Compose Coffee all launching in the city state.
However, highlighting the challenges of competition and high property costs, Singapore-based Flash Coffee closed its 11 remaining stores in the country October 2023 after amassing significant debt.