KUALA LUMPUR: Loob Holding Sdn Bhd will give up the Chatime franchise following the dispute with the franchisor La Kaffa International Co. Ltd of Taiwan and create its own brand for its 165 outlets.

Loob Holding CEO Bryan Loo said on Monday the company’s 165 outlets in Malaysia accounted for more than half of the turnover recorded by the franchisor’s reported 800 outlets worldwide.

He clarified Loob Holding and/or its sub-franchisees were still operating all the 165 outlets although it had been reported that La Kaffa would officially take over the Malaysian Chatime business operation and development.

In accordance with the franchise agreement, all the current outlets would cease using the Chatime branding only after 45 days and Loob Holding had given such notice to La Kaffa in a letter last week.

Loo said there had been disagreements and disputes over various business and operational matters but these were all dealt with in accordance with the terms of the franchise agreement.

Following the latest decision Loo said the company would move forward in its growth story with its 1,000-strong workforce who were serving two million customers each month.
 
“We have the same team, the same people, both employees and partners, in place at the same outlets. We expect consumers to find that we now have a different name, only better,” he said.
 
On the new brand, Loo said the management was working closely with sub-franchisees, outlet supervisory staff, frontline workers, partners and associates and the pace would intensify in the coming weeks.
 
“We will surely come up with something better. Loob Holding has 10 brands under us, including this Taiwanese brand which we built from scratch in Malaysia – from zero to hero and from no outlet to the current 165.
 
“In 2011, there were a few dozen bubble tea brands and now, there’re only three. We are by far the market leader in our segment and we are confident of holding this leadership with our own brand – which will be revealed when the time comes,” he quipped.
 
He was confident Malaysians would continue supporting the company as it had the experience, track record and capability of offering what consumers wanted.
 
“We are indeed grateful for the support from Malaysians these past six years. In fact, we are encouraged and motivated by the expressions of support for our current dispute, many of which are unsolicited and through various channels, including social media.
 
“The welfare and livelihood of the entire 1,000 team members are always close to our heart,” Loo said, when commenting on the premature termination of the franchise. 

“In fact, we are declaring an average of two months bonus this year for all employees for this Chinese New Year and giving ang pows to all frontline service staff.”