As promised, Taiwan-based La Kaffa International Co Ltd, the parent company of popular bubble milk tea Chatime, has taken over the development of Chatime stores in Malaysia.
This is in the midst of the legal battle between La Kaffa and former Chatime Malaysia master franchisor Loob Holding Sdn Bhd.
For those of you who are not in the know, back in January 2017, La Kaffa terminated the contract with its sole Malaysian franchisee due to a disagreement on royalty and ingredient sources. Despite the messy divorce and the ongoing legal battle, Loob Holding has since rebranded more than 160 Chatime Malaysia outlets to Tealive.
But La Kaffa isn’t one to just sit back and watch. No, siree. They’ve cooked up a plan of their own.
According to a report by CNA, La Kaffa has bounced back with a new partner, Will Group, and they plan on bringing Chatime back to its “glory days”. Will Group, who runs 2 of the most profitable Chatime outlets in Malaysia (KL Sentral and Genting Highlands) was by La Kaffa to take over as master franchisee from Loob Holding.
CNA quoted Will Group Managing Director Aliza Ali as saying, “Our short term goal is to open 30 stores within the next 6 months … we’re looking at expanding the outlets that are most frequently visited by the customers. The long term goal is by the end of the 12th month, to open 70 outlets. So we’re working really hard on that.”
Will Group, the current master license store for Chatime Malaysia, also promised a return to “quality” La Kaffa-approved ingredients for the brand. Legal process is underway for it to officially take over as master franchisee.
Anyone else incredibly confused by the bubble tea war? We feel ya.
Source: CNA / Featured image: Chatime Boston.
