Bubble tea brand Gong Cha shuts all outlets in Singapore: Report

SINGAPORE: Bubble tea brand Gong Cha has reportedly closed all its outlets in Singapore.

Its Singapore CEO Kang Puay Seng told Chinese-language daily Lianhe Zaobao that the business here is no longer a franchisee of the Gong Cha brand from Oct 1.

"The company has closed all Gong Cha stores in Singapore and ceased all related operations," he said in a statement on Thursday (Oct 2), adding that all issues related to the closures will be handled responsibly and fairly.

"We would like to express our deepest gratitude to all stakeholders who have contributed to Gong Cha Singapore since 2017, especially our loyal customers and hardworking staff," Mr Kang added.

The closure of several outlets in the past two days had sparked questions about the future of the brand in Singapore.

Its Singapore website and social media pages were unavailable, and none of the three outlets that CNA visited earlier on Thursday afternoon were open. 

This included the outlet at Compass One in Sengkang. 

A staff member at an adjacent shop said that the outlet was also closed yesterday, but was operating the day before that. She added that she thought it was closed for renovation.

The outlet at Changi General Hospital's integrated building was also closed.

At the Nex mall outlet, a sign at the cashier read: "Closed for maintenance today." An employee from a nearby shop said it was last open on Tuesday. 

Its drinks were not available for order on food delivery platform Grab.

Founded in 2006 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Gong Cha expanded into Singapore in 2009. It briefly exited the Singapore market in June 2017, with its outlets here replaced by homegrown bubble tea brand LiHo.

It returned to the Singapore market a few months later under a different franchisee in December 2017. Mr Kang, who co-founded the Mr Bean soy milk chain, was responsible for bringing Gong Cha back to Singapore.

According to its website, Gong Cha had 29 outlets in Singapore. 

CNA has made several attempts to get an official statement from Gong Cha. While an employee said over the phone that it would be rebranded, its marketing team declined to confirm any details.

A man at the Gong Cha office also declined to comment, citing confidentiality reasons.

He told CNA that a spokesperson will issue an official statement, but did not specify when or how, only to "wait" for it.

The Food, Drinks and Allied Workers Union (FDAWU) said that while there are no indications of how Gong Cha’s workers would be affected, it stands ready to provide affected union members, if any, with assistance.

"In view of recent retrenchments carried out by other F&B companies, FDAWU appeals to all F&B workers to join the union earlier for better grievance intervention, and employment support and protection," it added.