ONE in five coffee shops – or more than 2,000 – has rolled down its shutters in the last six months as a result of the ban on smoking in eateries, said operators.
They said six months since the ban was imposed, their business has nosedived as smokers shied away.
This figure could even be higher as the shutdown listed here are only of eateries registered with the Malaysia-Singapore Coffeeshop Owners’ Association.
Association president Ho Su Mong said coffee shops are the hardest hit among eateries because a majority of their customers are smokers.
“Some operators claimed their business had dipped by as much as 30%.”
The association is among at least three food and beverage associations that had objected to the ban which came into force on January 1.
Under the regulation, eating places are gazetted as non-smoking zones in accordance with Rule 11 of the Tobacco Rule Control Regulations 2004.
Smokers are only allowed to smoke in areas of not less than 3m from the end of the dining area, including in the open.
To give smokers and business operators more time to get used to the regulation, the Health Ministry has now pushed taking of legal action against those who violated the regulation from July 1 this year to January 1 next year.
John Ee Hong who operates Cosans Coffee, a chain outlet, is among the entrepreneurs forced to shutter up due to poor business. He said he is closing shop later this month.
Early this month, John took out an advertisement to sell his Subang Jaya coffee shop.
He said in December last year – before the smoking ban came into force – his shop was raking in around RM50,000 per month.
After the ban, he said revenue steadily declined until it was only RM15,000 in June.
“There are some interested buyers,” he said when met at his Subang Jaya coffee shop recently.
Cosans Coffee opened in 2013 with its first outlet in Subang Jaya before opening other outlets in the Klang Valley.
John said he invested RM300,000 into the business but the downturn gave him no option but to call it quits, cut his losses and lay off his 10 workers.
“By right, business should be better than last year.”
He blamed the sudden enforcement of the ban for his predicament.
“I really love this new (Pakatan Harapan) government which I voted for but for the government to implement such a policy, it should think of its implications on the community, especially the business community.
“They need to give us notice of at least a few years before implementing such a policy. It will give us time to deal with the new policy.
“Three months’ notice, as what happened, was too short,” he said.
However, The Malaysian Insight’s survey found that Cosans Coffee had closed some of its outlets – in Bangsar and Kota Damansara – even before the ban on January 1.
Meanwhile, the Barista Guild Asia coffee training school (BGA) said not all coffee shops were affected by the smoking ban.
“In BGA’s view, the smoking ban does not directly impact on a cafe.
“Competition from bubble tea stores could be one of the reasons why there is a decline in coffee shops,” said BGA general manager and head trainer Afiq Ammar Khan.
Malaysia-Singapore Coffeeshop Owners’ Association president Ho, however, disagreed.
“That’s not the reason,” he said.
Ho said the bubble milk tea business is more about trend and which only lasts in the short term.
“This coffee shop is a long-running business,” he said.
Pearl milk tea is a Taiwanese creation of balls of sweet potato and jelly flour and is taking over the world.
Afiq, who provides training to cafe owners, said most cafes BGA supervised, particularly in shopping malls, do not face any drop in business because of the ban.
“Cafes and coffee shops are still being opened every month in the city and outside.” – July 19, 2019.
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Comments
Posted 5 years ago by SY L · Reply
Posted 5 years ago by Francis Chang · Reply
Posted 5 years ago by V W · Reply
Only those selling decent quality food will survive. Blame your poor business skill rather than smoking ban!
Majority of the public support the ban. I will never go into the coffee shop if I see the customers customers smoking in the shop.
Posted 5 years ago by Chee yee ng · Reply
Posted 5 years ago by K Pop · Reply
Might as well tapao better
Posted 5 years ago by S L · Reply
Posted 5 years ago by Robert Phang · Reply
Posted 5 years ago by Gerald Lau · Reply
Posted 5 years ago by Justin Then · Reply
Posted 5 years ago by Chong Choong Kian · Reply