Grassroots owned coffee shop chain increases beverage prices across the board
Last Friday (4 May), Zaobao ran a story on how beverage prices at several coffee shops have gone up as a result of the water price hike by the government.
At the Kim San Leng coffee shop chain owned by grassroots leader Hoon Thing Leong, it has increased coffee, tea and canned drinks by $0.10, and beer by $0.20. It was increasing beverage prices in anticipation of next round of water price hike this July.
Apparently, readers not happy with the price hike of beverages wrote to inform Zaobao. A cup of coffee now costs $1.20 instead of the usual $1.10.
When reporters visited a Kim San Leng coffee shop at Bishan Street 13, they found a handwritten note pasted at the cash register announcing - "Drinks Coffee increase $0.10".
Zaobao reported that when customers saw the handwritten note or after paying the new price of $1.20 for their coffee, many asked the cashier what was going on. Zaobao later contacted Mr Hoon, who confirmed that his coffee chain has started raising beverage prices from 1 May.
He said, "We have not raised prices for 2 years. But in the last 1 year, our cost has increased by around 20%. So I think the price increase is reasonable."
He also said that many other coffee shops increased their prices last July when the water price started to go up. His coffee shop chain did not. He said that his coffee chop chain is one of the last ones to increase prices.
The Kim San Leng coffee shop chain is owned by Bishan grassroots leader Hoon Thing Leong, who also sits on the boards of various associations, including the Foochow Coffee Restaurant and Bar Merchants Association. Mr Hoon was awarded the Public Service Medal by the Prime Minister in 1999.
It's not known if Ms Indranee who easily earns more than a million a year thinks that a $0.10 increase for a cup of coffee is considered "very minimal impact" on the price of coffee and tea drinks. And even though coffee and tea drink prices “should not and ought not” to go up but went up anyway, it's not known if she thinks $0.10 is negligible and so there shouldn't be any grounds for those readers to complain to Zaobao.
https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/20...-grassroots-owned-coffeeshop-chain-increases/
