Zus Coffee plans to add 200 stores in Southeast Asia

Coffee shop operator Zuspresso Sdn plans to open nearly 200 new stores in Southeast Asia this year, after surpassing Starbucks as Malaysia’s largest coffee chain within five years of inception.

- RAM ANAND NETTY IDAYU ISMAIL

The Zus Coffee brand owner will open at least 107 new stores in Malaysia, add about 80 in the Philippines, and another six in Singapore, Chief Operating Officer Venon Tian said in an interview. The firm will also start its first stores in Thailand and Indonesia this year.

Zus overtook Starbucks as Malaysia’s largest-coffee chain in early 2024. It has 743 stores in the country, while Starbucks operates 320 stores. The US chain's presence in the Muslim-majority nation has recently shrunk after boycotts for the brand's perceived Israel links amid the Gaza conflict dragged down the earnings of its Malaysian operator.