SINGAPORE – Costa Coffee, world’s second largest coffee chain, will close all of its outlets in Singapore by September 16.
Six of its eight outlets have already closed over the past three and a half months, with the chain stating that it will close its final two stores – in Holland Village and VivoCity – on Sept 7 and Sept 16 respectively.
The British chain, which first came to Singapore in 2012, has struggled to compete against its formidable rival in the mass coffee market, Starbucks, as well as new independent coffee shops that offer Singaporeans artisanal brews.
The exit from Singapore will not affect Costa’s other Southeast Asian operations, and the chain says it is “committed to remaining within the Southeast Asia region and [has] ambitious plans to grow the Costa brand,” a company’s spokesperson said.
Beverage giant The Coca-Cola Company is set to take over Costa from parent company Whitbread after a US$5.1 billion deal announced last week.
