Further losses for Malaysia’s Berjaya Foods as Starbucks boycotts bite

Berjaya’s full-year sales for the 12 months ended 30 June 2024 fell 34% year-on-year to RM730m ($168m) | Photo credit Quan Le

Berjaya Food has reported three-month losses of RM33.7m ($7.5m), marking a fourth consecutive quarter in the red amid sustained boycotts of its Starbucks franchise in Malaysia. 
 

The Selangor-based restaurant group, which operates 408 Starbucks stores in Malaysia alongside licensed Paris Baguette and Kenny Rogers Roasters sites, also posted a 55% year-on-year fall in group revenue to RM124.2m ($27.7m) – 5% less than the previous quarter.  

Citing the ‘prolonged impact from the ongoing sentiment in relation to the Middle East conflict’, Berjaya Food temporarily closed 50 Starbucks outlets in the three months ended 30 September 2024 – 12% of its total Starbucks network. 

In its Bursa Malaysia filing Berjaya Food said it remains ‘cautiously optimistic’ that its financial performance will ‘gradually improve’ in 2025, despite the challenging macro environment. 

However, seeking to limit group losses arising from its Starbucks Malaysia franchise, Berjaya Food has moved to diversify its café business after securing franchising rights to operate the US coffee chain in the Nordics in August 2024 and agreeing deals to expand its licensed Paris Baguette footprint in Southeast Asia. 

The Nordics agreement will see Berjaya Food build upon Starbucks’ respective 18 and four-store presence in Denmark and Finland, alongside launching the Seattle-based coffee chain in Iceland. 

Having first partnered with South Korean food and beverage conglomerate SPC Group in January 2023 to launch Paris Baguette in Malaysia, Berjaya Food has since brought the chain to the Philippines and operates 10 licensed Paris Baguette stores across both markets. 

In October 2024, Berjaya Food signed a master franchise agreement with SPC Group to launch Paris Baguette in Thailand, with the first store of the deal expected to open in the second half of 2025. 

Alongside Paris Baguette and Starbucks, Berjaya Food also operates 58 Kenny Rogers Roasters fast-food outlets and 30 licensed Krispy Kreme locations in Malaysia.  

Berjaya Food’s full-year sales for the 12 months ended 30 June 2024 fell 34% year-on-year to RM730m ($168m). The restaurant group also recorded a pre-tax loss of RM87.3m ($20m) compared to a RM148.7m ($34.2m) profit during the previous year.