Gong Cha ceases operations in S’pore, shuts all stores islandwide

SINGAPORE – Bubble tea brand Gong Cha has officially ceased operations in Singapore as at Oct 2, after it took down its local social media accounts and website and shuttered its shops in past months.

In a statement provided to Lianhe Zaobao on Oct 2, Mr Kang Puay Seng, chief executive of Gong Cha Singapore, confirmed that all its stores in Singapore have shut.

Mr Kang told the Chinese-language daily that Gong Cha Singapore was no longer the franchisee of the Gong Cha brand here from Oct 1.

The statement also carried an assurance from the company to all stakeholders that all issues arising from the closure would be handled responsibly and fairly.

“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 hard-working staff,” said Mr Kang.

But in a statement on the evening of Oct 2, Gong Cha’s global chief executive Paul Reynish said the brand

intends to relaunch in Singapore in 2026

.

Gong Cha Global said it has “temporarily shut” its outlets here after deciding not to renew its current agreement with its incumbent master franchisee, but will relaunch in Singapore in 2026 with new local franchisees.

It also intends to introduce its new Gong Cha 2.0 stores, which were first launched overseas in 2024, to Singapore.

It added that this builds on successful roll-outs of its new store design in South Korea and Japan, which boasts innovative technology that can cut wait times and improve overall customer experience.

Mr Reynish said: “Singapore is a really important market for us, and we’re really excited about relaunching in 2026.

“To Gong Cha lovers across the country: This is not goodbye, but rather ‘see you soon!’. We will be back in 2026 with an even bolder, more innovative and more exciting proposition.”

Checks by The Straits Times earlier on Oct 2 showed that Gong Cha’s local

Instagram

and

Facebook

pages were unavailable. Gong Cha’s official Singapore website also appeared to be offline.

On the GrabFood and foodpanda food delivery platforms, the status of Gong Cha’s various shops was indicated as closed or unavailable. However, some of its shops on GrabFood appeared to have various opening times listed from Oct 6 to Dec 31.

On its international website, the store finder function still showed its various outlets in Singapore, albeit without details on opening hours. There were 29 Singapore outlets listed. 

The Gong Cha outlet at Bugis Junction was shut when ST visited on Oct 2, with its signage covered with red paper.

In July, Facebook page I Love Tampines reported that Gong Cha had ceased operations at Simei MRT station. Business website Yelp lists Gong Cha’s 100 AM mall outlet as closed.

It is still listed as a “live” company or a business that is still in operation, according to Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority records as at Oct 2. Gong Cha Singapore last filed an annual report on Sept 26, 2024, for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2023.

Attempts to contact Gong Cha Singapore via e-mail were unsuccessful, as the accounts appear to be invalid or inactive. Calls to the number registered to the business also went unanswered.

Ms Clara Loh, a consultant, said she was “a little sad” due to the nostalgia of Gong Cha being one of the first few major bubble tea franchises in Singapore.

“It was definitely one of my staples in the past because I love the taro milk tea,” said the 35-year-old. “But perhaps the accessibility of the other brands took over, as proximity plays an important role when you’re looking to grab a drink on the go.”

Ms Loh added that Gong Cha’s recent announcement that K-pop star Felix from popular boy band Stray Kids would be its new global ambassador had piqued her interest in the brand again.

But she noted that the marketing effort might not have been enough to keep the brand afloat here.

Mr Damian Thiam, a 26-year-old university graduate, said that while he feels sad about the development, it is not too big of a loss for him as there is currently a wide variety of brands in the market.

Having bought from Gong Cha “almost every day” in his youth, Mr Thiam said that he stopped doing so following the brand’s relaunch in 2017, as the pearls “tasted weird”.

He pointed to other brands’ strategies, such as iTea’s competitive prices and Chicha San Chen’s quality tea, as well as Koi’s accessibility and frequent seasonal specials.

“Personally, I think Gong Cha should have picked a niche to satisfy. It tries to do everything all at once and doesn’t really have something that sets it apart.”

Operations manager Matthew Yee, 35, said that he “barely even noticed” that Gong Cha was still around. “After they came back the first time, other nicer brands had already moved in and they kind of got overshadowed.”

Mr Yee, who previously preferred Gong Cha over its contemporaries, including Koi, said that when newer brands entered the market, he tried their offerings and just liked their tea better.

In Britain, ST Group Food, the owner of Gong Cha’s operator GCTea Outlets 2B, said in July that it

planned to liquidate its loss-making subsidiary

.

Gong Cha first entered the Singapore market in 2009 with former franchisee RTG Holdings. The company then converted its 84 Gong Cha outlets to LiHO, a new home-grown bubble tea label in June 2017.

Before the conversion, Gong Cha outlets here were raking in about $30 million in annual revenue, making Singapore one of the top three contributors to the brand’s overall turnover at the time. In 2016, its overall turnover was reportedly more than US$70 million (S$90 million).

The popular Taiwanese bubble tea chain then

reopened in December 2017

to long queues under a new franchisee, Gong Cha Singapore,

helmed by Mr Kang

, the former managing director and co-founder of soya bean milk F&B chain Mr Bean.

Union ready to help affected members

On the evening of Oct 2, the Food, Drinks and Allied Workers Union (FDAWU) – an affiliated union of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) – said in a statement that it is ready to help union members who may be affected by the closure.

Affected members and those working in Gong Cha who require assistance can approach FDAWU on 6737-6088 during working hours or e-mail

fdawu@ntuc.org.sg

FDAWU noted in its statement that Gong Cha Singapore is a non-unionised company.

“While there are no indications of how Gong Cha’s workers would be affected by the company’s closure of operations, FDAWU is ready to provide affected union members, if any, with assistance and resources where needed,” it said.

For example, if retrenchment exercises are carried out, NTUC’s affiliated unions, like FDAWU, or associations will extend assistance to union members should they be affected.

FDAWU would also connect them to the labour movement’s network such as NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute), which allows Singaporeans and permanent residents to tap its job matching services, career coaching and skills upgrading help.

“Affected workers who are Singaporeans can also receive more employment support through the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme by participating in e2i’s job search activities,” it said.

Eligible union members can also tap the Union Training Assistance Programme to offset training costs should they require skills upgrading.