Australia’s Gloria Jean’s Coffee Vietnam has closed its last coffee shop in Ho Chi Minh City, in the Phu My Hung urban area of District 7, after ten years in Vietnam. It arrived in Vietnam in 2007 under a franchise license secured by the VietLifestyle JSC.
The ten-year deal saw the master franchisee launch coffee shops in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, each involving investment of $200,000.
VietLifestyle had aimed to open a further 20 locations over the next two years, offering espresso-based, chocolate-based, and cocoa-based drinks to young people, expats, and foreign tourists familiar with the brand.
The master franchisee was to achieve this in part through sub-franchising the concept and providing operational, marketing, management, and business development support.
A slowdown hit a few years ago, however, when its prime corner location on Dong Khoi Street in Ho Chi Minh City closed, partly because of high rents.
Other locations then began to disappear. By the end of last year, only two stores remained: one on Cong Truong Quoc Te in District 1 and the Phu My Hung outlet in District 7.
Gloria Jean’s was founded in Australia in 1996 with the ambition of being the most loved and respected coffee company worldwide.
The chain currently has more than 900 outlets in 39 markets worldwide, including more than 400 in Australia.