Coffee chain Mr. Brown is closing eight shops within three months in the Taipei area, at least partly due to a fall in the number of visitors, reports said Wednesday (Jan. 1).
The closures started last November in the capital’s Tienmu area, but since then six other outlets have been vacated, the Central News Agency reported. By the end of this month, a large coffee shop in the center of New Taipei City’s popular Tamsui District tourist area will also face closure.
According to a company spokesman, a drop in the number of visitors was the main reason for the decision to shut shop, while in certain locations, rental agreements had also reached their end, CNA reported.
In addition to the eight already known, two other coffee shops had reportedly been put on a watchlist, with no decision about their fate yet.
As to the employees at the eight outlets, some of them would be reassigned to other locations within the company, and some of them would leave, but all changes had been agreed on with the individuals concerned, the Mr. Brown spokesman said. The Ministry of Labor said it had not received any notifications about mass layoffs at the company.
Mr. Brown is a brand of the King Car Group, which in recent years launched Kavalan whisky and Buckskin beer.
Competition in Taiwan’s coffee retail sector has recently heated up, with domestic chain Louisa Coffee now operating more outlets than Starbucks.
Source：Taiwan News
