Chatime Malaysia: We didn’t change name
> Bubble tea company warns Loob Holding to stop misleading the public that Chatime has been rebranded as Tealive
PUTRAJAYA: Chatime Malaysia, which has outlined a five-year RM100 million expansion plan targeting over 150 outlets in Malaysia and internationally, said Loob Holding Sdn Bhd has yet to respond to its legal letter issued last Thursday, but noted that Loob has removed the misleading headlines on its website.
The legal letter calls for Tealive to stop confusing the public through Loob’s misleading headline published on the company’s website, which read “Chatime renamed as Tealive” and “Tealive replaced Chatime” and have caused confusion among Chatime’s customers.
Chatime Malaysia group managing director Aliza Ali said it has given Loob seven days to respond to its legal letter and will leave the next steps to its legal team.
“For the past one year, the headlines have been there and the damage they have done to Chatime and to Chatime customers is a lot. Just by taking it (headlines) down is not going to do justice for us and our customers. There must be something that they do for people to know that Chatime has not been renamed to Tealive. You’ve done this damage, you’ve to fix it,” she told reporters at its halal certification presentation ceremony yesterday.
It is calling for Tealive to correct the misconception and offer an apology to Chatime customers for the confusion.
She said it is disheartening to know that after a year it has been awarded the franchise in Malaysia, the public still thinks that Chatime has been rebranded and is now known as Tealive. The issuance of the legal letter to Loob is its way of responding to the situation it finds itself in as a result of Tealive’s misleading branding exercise.
“Before we expand further, we need to address this issue where there’s a misconception. We would rather sort this out first, before we move ahead. If the misconception is still there, it would indirectly still affect the customers,” said Aliza.
Earlier, Chatime Malaysia was presented the halal food certification from the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim). It has obtained the Jakim halal food certification for its menu and five of its outlets.
Aliza said it is undergoing halal certification for the rest of its outlets. It has 34 outlets in Malaysia currently and plans to open eight new outlets in two months’ time.
The bubble tea company seeks to incorporate the halal certification into its five-year plan, which will see it expand into Singapore, as well as Mecca and Medina in the Middle East this year.