Bye bye Baskin-Robbins

[Gaybutton]

Bad news if you're a Baskin-Robbins ice cream fan. There used to be one in Pattaya at the Big-C, north Pattaya, but it disappeared years ago. I don't remember any others in Pattaya.

Part of the problem is the price of good ice cream in Thailand, such as Ben & Jerry's, Bud's, Haagen-Dazs, etc. These days it is usually between 170 baht to well over 300 baht for one pint. There also were some ice cream shops, but most of those also have disappeared.
___________________________________________________________________________________

End of rocky road for Baskin-Robbins in Thailand as all stores in the country are all shutting down

March 18, 2023

World famous US-based ice cream brand Baskin-Robbins has announced it is shutting down its business in Thailand after suffering losses over the past 10 years.

Baskin-Robbins entered the Thai market in 1996 under Golden Scoop, a subsidiary of retail operator and master franchisee Mud & Hound.

Mud & Hound owns Thai and international brands including Au Bon Pain, Dunkin’ Donuts and Greyhound Café.

Baskin-Robbins generated only 1% of the company's revenue of 2.170 billion baht in 2021 compared to around 3% in 2020, according to Mud & Hound.

The number of Baskin-Robbins branches in Thailand also plummeted from 10 at the end of 2021 to four in 2022.

The remaining branches – at Siriraj Piyamaharajkarun Hospital, K Village, Siam Paragon and The Walk Kaset Nawamintra – were shuttered as of press time.

A brand upgrade that included importing ice cream ingredients from the US failed to stem losses, which accumulated to over 128 million baht over the past 10 years. The past three years of Covid also hit sales.

Based in Canton, Massachusetts, Baskin-Robbins was founded in 1945 by Burt Baskin (1913–1967) and Irv Robbins (1917–2008) in Glendale, California.

It is the world's largest chain of ice cream speciality stores, with more than 8,000 locations, including nearly 2,500 shops in the US and over 5,000 in other countries. Baskin-Robbins has stores in nearly 50 countries.

https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/as ... tting-down

[bi-top]

GB, why do you think Swensen's has such a strong-hold here? I've never asked, but where does the Swensen ice cream come from? I always assumed it was imported from the USA?

I never ate at a Swensen's in the USA ... but Swensen's at RG facing the water was a go-to since I came here 20+ years ago. In fact, on Friday and Saturday nights, it was waiting room only (and it was a LARGE restaurant back then!). I didn't understand how they did it - we were paying the equivalent of $1.25 or so for a "specialty item" (with ice cream, toppings and syrup).

[Gaybutton]

GB, why do you think Swensen's has such a strong-hold here?

I have no idea.