The bubble tea drama ain’t over, y’all! At one point, Chatime was the largest bubble tea chain in Malaysia. A dispute happened between franchise holder Loob Holding Sdn Bhd and franchise owner La Kaffa International Co Ltd, and La Kaffa terminated its contract with Loob. That led to a closure of all Chatime outlets in Malaysia, and Tealive under Loob Holding sprung up overnight. Now, the Court of Appeal has granted an injunction by La Kaffa against Tealive from operating.
War of the Bubble Teas
After the High Court dismissed La Kaffa’s injunction bid against Loob Holding in May 2017 from running a similar business as Chatime, La Kaffa had filed the appeal. This time, the Court of Appeal granted it. In return, Tealive owner Loob Holding will file an application for a stay and for leave to appeal to the Federal Court. With La Kaffa’s successful injunction, Tealive could risk closing all its outlets nationwide.
The Empire of Tealive
Currently, Tealive has 161 outlets, as well as 800 staff. Loob Holding has also expanded internationally, with outlets opening soon or having opened in China, Australia, India and Vietnam.
Is It Tealive… Or Teadead?
Well, looks like the drama won’t end anytime soon, so all we can do is sit and wait to find out. Meanwhile, whose team are you on: #teamchatime, or #teamtealive?
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