Boycott of Starbucks biting into Berjaya’s profits

The news of Starbucks Malaysia losing RM42.6 million is a shocking one to most people. Whether they see it as a positive or negative outlook is rather a different topic. It seems that the Berjaya Food group reported that they had losses due to the boycotts. The reasons for these boycotts are related to the Middle Eastern conflict.

According to NST, for the six months ending Dec 31, 2023, BFood incurred a net loss of RM23.5 million compared to RM70.2 million profit last year, with revenue dipping 20.3% to RM461.1 million from RM578.4 million.

Starbucks boycott biting

Despite this, BFood remains optimistic, foreseeing a turnaround and improved performance in subsequent quarters. The board attributes challenges to short-term issues and anticipates positive progress moving forward.

This is a stark comparison to September 2023, where Starbucks branches in Malaysia were breaking record in profit. World of Buzz stated that the coffee branch made a 70% gross profit margin. The queues for their drinks back then were extremely long, and the prices for their drinks are not that affordable for the average Malaysian.

Starbucks Malaysia losses “welcomed” by netizens

An X user states that the boycotts are really affecting American based companies. Furthermore, Starbucks specifically is seen to be doing better at airports. This is probably due to tourists coming into Malaysia that are not in line with the boycott trend.

There are some netizens who hope that the franchises here close down permanently due to their associations to the west. They state that supporting local brands would be the best choice. However, not all netizens agree with this rhetoric as they feel local brands are overpriced and do not offer the same level of quality Starbucks has to offer.