Berjaya Group founder Vincent Tan said public sentiment towards Starbucks is beginning to soften as consumers become ‘more realistic’ in their perceptions of the US coffee chain’s Middle East stance
Berjaya Food has franchised US coffee chain Starbucks in Malaysia since 1998 | Photo credit: Ankur Madan
Berjaya Group Founder Vincent Tan has said Starbucks has begun to turn the corner on falling sales in Malaysia as customer boycotts taper off.
Speaking to local reporters, Tan, whose Berjaya Food subsidiary has franchised US coffee chain Starbucks in the Southeast Asian country since 1998, indicated consumers were now more ready to accept that Starbucks’ stance on the Israel-Gaza conflict has been distorted by online and social media content.
“People are becoming more realistic. We can’t do anything about what Israel is doing, or what’s happening in Gaza. People are realising that Starbucks Malaysia is not hurting anyone,” he said.
In November 2024, Selangor-based Berjaya Food reported three-month losses of RM33.7m ($7.5m), marking a fourth consecutive quarter in the red amid sustained boycotts of its licensed Starbucks business.
The restaurant group, which operates 405 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. Starbucks sales contribute approximately 90% of Berjaya Food’s revenues.
Seattle-based Starbucks, which also saw US and European sales negatively impacted by customer boycotts, has maintained that misperceptions on social media over its position on the Israel-Gaza conflict had inaccurately fuelled poor consumer sentiment towards the brand.
Starbucks has sought to clarify its position on the Gaza conflict by issuing several statements and posting FAQ page on its website.
The Starbucks Foundation, along with Starbucks’ Middle East licensee Alshaya Group, has also provided over $3m to World Central Kitchen to provide more than one million meals to families in Gaza since October 2023.