Member-only story
Kopitiam is now a Social Enterprise under the FairPrice Group.
In early February, it was announced that the Kopitiam stored-value cards (which entitles users to 10% discount at Kopitiam’s chain of food courts and eateries) will be phased out after June 30 2023. FairPrice group, who owns and runs the Kopitiam chain of eateries, said that users may enjoy the same discount on the FairPrice mobile app, even after the use of the physical Kopitiam card is discontinued.
Notably, this announcement frustrated a lot of existing customers, particularly older folks, who are usually not tech-savvy and although they may get a cash refund on the amount left on their cards, it is probably too much work just to get the refund. To help with this transition, Kopitiam said it will deploy more than 80 “digital buddies” from March to June this year to help customers move from the physical stored-value cards to the FairPrice app.
This piqued my interest — why was Kopitiam, a for-profit food court operator which started in 1988 by Lim Bee Huat, sold to NTUC Enterprise for an undisclosed amount in September 2018? Thereafter, Kopitiam was parked under the Social Enterprise wing of the FairPrice Group.
Origins of Kopitiam
