I‘m sure that many of you who read the headline must be thinking if this is some sort of joke that Gong Cha and LiHo is playing on us, or if it’s just a publicity stunt to get LiHo into the market.

But we assure you that it is not.

Gong Cha is making a comeback!

After all the fiasco that has happened between Gong Cha and LiHo for the past 2 weeks – with Gong Cha leaving the shores and everyone whining about how much they miss it, and everyone else is complaining about how difficult it is to get a cup of cheese tea, we are happy to announce that Gong Cha will be back in the next few months.

This time, for good!

In an interview with The Straits Times, Mr Kim Soomin, a partner at Japanese private equity firm Unison Capital which also co-owns Gong Cha with Royal Tea Taiwan, said, “We just want to make clear to our Singapore customers that we are not leaving the market and we plan to come back pretty soon. Together with Korea and Taiwan, Singapore is one of the most strategically important and successful markets for Gong Cha’s growth so there’s no way we want to leave”

In a year, the Gong Cha outlets generated about $30 million in revenue – which well, goes to show why it’s really a waste to let such a brand disappear overnight.

The company has not decided on whether to operate the brand themselves here or to let a franchisee take over. However, ever since the announcement of #GongChaRIP, individuals and companies have asked about the franchise.

Well, ar bo then: $30 million annual revenue leh. 

Now, how about LiHo? Mr Kim Soomin said, “We had a tremendous relationship with Rodney. It is sad things didn’t work out… but I think both parties have to move on. We are not here to compete with LiHo.”

And here’s the statement of all statement: “It is not LiHo versus Gong Cha.”

Oh. Perhaps to continue the battle with KOI?

And, with all the international brands trying to set up a market here in Singapore, we are not surprised that Gong Cha will want a slice of it as well. Out of the 1,400 Gong Cha outlets worldwide, 80 were located in Singapore.

However, they have since been converted to LiHo ever since Mr Rodney Tang , RTG managing director, learnt that Royal Tea Taiwan had been sold to Unison Capital without his knowledge.

When asked about the return of Gong Cha to Singapore, Mr Tang responded that he was glad Gong Cha would be making a comeback in Singapore. “The brand has a special place in the hearts of Singaporeans and I wish them all the best making it as big as we did in the last eight years.”

Customers can look forward to their favourite drinks appearing back on the menu. And here’s the best news ever: there’ll be a new menu as well.

This also effectively means that Gong Cha has to open new outlets, which would happen in the next few months. There’s no target on the number of outlets, except that it would be “as many as” they can do so. 

I’m not sure about you, but I’m so glad that I can get to drink my Winter Melon Tea with White Pearl again. 

Guess LiHo has got to bring up the standards of their Cheese Teas while they still can. Or maybe just bring in more cups, because “out of stock” really shouldn’t be in the menu, no?

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This article was first published on goodyfeed.com

Featured Image: ntuc.org.sg

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