Yahoo Finance Delivery Hero-backed Flash Coffee exits Singapore to cut costs
By Olivia Poh
(Bloomberg) — Flash Coffee, a grab-and-go coffee chain backed by Delivery Hero SE, has closed its stores in Singapore to curb costs as it works toward profitability.
The Singapore-based company filed a notice with local regulators this week, saying it’s unable to continue operating because of its liabilities. The chain, which has about 200 stores globally, will shutter all its 11 locations in the city-state, it said in a statement on Friday.
Launched in 2020, Flash Coffee opened at least 20 stores in Singapore and quickly expanded across Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong and South Korea. It raised $50 million this May, on the back of a goal to reach profitability in 2024.
The global economic slowdown has been keenly felt in Southeast Asia, where once-high-flying startups have had to quickly reconfigure their businesses and hasten plans to achieve profitability. Flash Coffee’s service, as a form of discretionary spending, was particularly vulnerable to the downturn in consumer sentiment and rising rents in the city-state.
“Most of our Singapore head office staff have been offered roles in other markets or with our regional team,” the company said.
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.
