Ripe Time For Starbucks Malaysia To Revamp Archaic Biz Model Amid Cut Throat Competitors New Gen Tastebuds

---

 
“LOL just pack it up lah. Berjaya Food can study a better chain from Europe to bring here,” so declared trend observer Faizal Hamssin (@faizalhamssin) with a tinge of typical Malaysian sarcasm.
Added the self-proclaimed fan of raw concrete, hotpots, walkable streets and pragmatism in reaction to the premium coffee chain having to sack a barista following a rude remark made on a mainland China tourist:
“Even better, partner with one of the promising local brands to expand their footprint in ASEAN.
“Starbucks’ brand value won’t recover anytime soon in . People have moved on from the brand.”
Lol just pack it up lah. Berjaya Food can study a better chain from Europe to bring here.
Even better, partner with one of the promising local brands to expand their footprint in ASEAN.
Starbucks’ brand value won’t recover anytime soon in . People have moved on from the brand. https://t.co/FFk9voQlKy
— Faizal Hamssin (@faizalhamssin) September 24, 2025
A bitter pill to swallow indeed but Faizal’s frank view sums up what the market has been saying about the Starbucks brand in the days following the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip on Oct 28, 2023 following a Hamas attack on Israel on Oct 7 that year.
In fact, the dismissal of its KLIA2 Landside Departure outlet barista after a video of her muttering a “bodoh” insult at a Chinese tourist went viral is only the tip of the iceberg insofar as Starbucks Malaysia’s woes are concerned.
To re-cap, the tourist was attempting to order drinks in English with the help of an AI (artificial intelligence) translation tool.
The premium coffee chain has since issued a public apology with Starbucks Malaysia stating that staff training on cultural sensitivity will be reinforced.


To numerous market observers, this is a tell-tale sign of staff morale taking a blow from the prolonged globalised boycott of its brand by anti-Zionist consumers which has taken substantial toll on its business.
While reinforcing staff training on cultural sensitivity is a welcome remedial measure, Starbucks Malaysia – beyond the boycott woes – literally has a mountain to climb as its pricing is now deemed ‘prohibitive’ in light of the mushrooming of many more affordable home-grown premium coffee brands.
Like it or not, the writing is on the wall as financial pressure has intensified with its master licensee Berjaya Food Bhd having remained in the red after its annual net loss for FY6/2025 widened to RM292 mil – more than triple the RM90.92 mil net loss it recorded for FY6/2024 – as revenue plunged 36.5% to RM476.77 mil from RM750.7 mil.
As of August 2025, Berjaya Food revealed that the number of Starbucks outlets nationwide had dropped to 320 from 408 in June 2024 – indicating that up to 88 stores are out of business whether temporarily or permanently.
Shares of Berjaya Food which started 2025 at 35 sen closed at 32 sen yesterday (Sept 25), up 3 sen with 2.19 million shares traded, thus valuing the company at RM623 mil.



















The global outlook is not pretty either as a US$1 bil (RM4.22 bil) restructuring plan is afoot, entailing closure of some North American coffeehouses and laying off more workers as the global chain forges ahead with its “Back to Starbucks” transformation under CEO Brian Niccol.
The number of company-operated stores in North America will decline by about 1% in fiscal 2025, accounting for both openings and closures, according to Starbucks in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
That figure translates to roughly 500 gross closures with approximately 900 non-retail employees to be laid off today (Sept 26). – Sept 26, 2025

---