Starbucks South Africa to be Sold

It’s been no secret that Starbucks has been struggling in South Africa recently, as although the stores are profitable at a sales level, they’re not producing the required return on their investment.

Taste, the conglomerate that owns Domino’s Pizza and the jeweller Arthur Kaplan, has suffered an operating loss of R87 million this year, contributing to its decision to sell off its ownership of Starbucks.

The JSE-listed company said it would sell the 13 stores for R7 million, coming to just under R540,000 per store.

Taste told its shareholders that it had “reached the conclusion that Taste should change its strategic direction and exit the food business given that it has become evident that capital investment required for the previous expansion strategy cannot be secured”.

The company has identified the buyer as K2019548958, a company that was only registered on Thursday, just one day before the sale was announced.

K2019548958’s only registered director is Adrian John Maizey, who is also a director of Taste.

Maizey has a long history of investment and is on the board of a number of investment companies, as well as holding non-executive directorships.