Gong Cha ceases operations in Singapore; all stores closed, CEO confirms

Bubble tea brand Gong Cha has officially ceased operations in Singapore.

In a statement provided to Lianhe Zaobao on Thursday (Oct 2), chief executive of Gong Cha Singapore Kang Puay Seng confirmed that all Gong Cha stores in Singapore have been closed and Gong Cha Singapore was no longer the franchisee of the brand from Oct 1 onwards.

"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," he told the Chinese daily.

He also assured stakeholders that all issues arising from the closure will be handled responsibly and fairly.

The statement comes after Gong Cha Singapore's social media platforms were down, as well as reports of the closure of some of its stores across Singapore. 

Checks by AsiaOne earlier in the day found that the bubble tea chain's Instagram and Facebook pages were not available. 

Its official Singapore website also appeared to be offline, though its international version, which provides a store finder for the Singapore branches, is still accessible. 

Gong Cha's stores on delivery platforms like GrabFood and Foodpanda also indicate that they are closed. On GrabFood, several outlets have various opening timings listed from Oct 6 to Dec 31. 

Earlier in July, social media platform I Love Tampines shared that the Gong Cha branch at Simei MRT Station had permanently shuttered. On Yelp, Gong Cha's 100 AM mall outlet is listed as closed.

That said, checks on Google show varying results, with outlets in Nex, Great World, Bugis Junction, Eunos, Sengkang Square, NUS, Science Drive, KK Women's and Children's Hospital and Century Square listed as open. The Plaza Singapura and Hougang Mall branches are listed as temporarily closed. 

Attempts to contact Gong Cha Singapore were unsuccessful.

When AsiaOne visited the Nex outlet at around 1.40pm on Oct 2, the store was closed. Though there was a sign on the counter, which read: "Closed for maintenance today." 

The store in Bugis was also closed when we visited on the same day at around 2.50pm, with its name covered up. 

In June 2017, Gong Cha exited the Singapore food scene and all 80 outlets were replaced by LiHo, reported The Straits Times.

Gong Cha, which was introduced to Singapore by RTG Holdings in 2009, was at one point the largest bubble tea chain here.

The Taiwanese bubble tea chain later reopened In December 2017 after it was brought back by a new franchisee, Gong Cha Singapore. This was helmed by Kang Puay Seng, former managing director and co-founder of soy milk food and beverage chain Mr Bean.

Additional reporting by Carol Ong.

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melissateo@asiaone.com