PETALING JAYA: Berjaya Corp Bhd founder Vincent Tan has called on the public to stop boycotting Starbucks Malaysia, saying it only hurts the locals running the company.
The business tycoon said up to 85% of Starbucks Malaysia’s employees were Muslims and that there were no foreigners working in the company’s head office.
“This boycott doesn’t benefit anyone,” he was quoted by the New Straits Times as saying at a press conference in Okinawa, Japan.
Tan said the boycott seemed to be tapering out with Starbucks Malaysia’s sales slowly improving.
He expected further improvement to be reflected in the company’s finances for the third quarter of this year.
Tan’s Berjaya Food Bhd (BFood) faced significant challenges due to the boycott of Starbucks in Malaysia, made worse by the weakening of the ringgit against the dollar.
This led to a substantial decline in revenue and a record net loss for the second quarter of the fiscal year 2024.
The boycott, sparked by the Israel-Palestine conflict, heavily impacted BFood as Starbucks Malaysia contributes 90% of the group’s revenue.
Research houses had issued “sell” calls on BFood’s stock, anticipating ongoing earnings pressure.
While BFood said it remained optimistic about performance improvement in subsequent quarters, some analysts were less hopeful, citing the Middle East conflict’s persistent influence on consumer behaviour and the potential for long-term brand erosion.
