Marrybrown waives advertising funds and franchise royalty fees amidst MCO

Marrybrown has waived advertising funds and franchise royalty fees during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period for all its franchisees until May 2020. This comes as the MCO was recently extended to 14 April and businesses are struggling to stay afloat amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Marrybrown is also currently in the midst of extending this waiver option to its global franchise partners including those in Sweden, China, India, Singapore, Thailand, Maldives and among others affected by the pandemic situation. Besides advertising funds and franchise royalty fees, the fast food chain is also supporting its franchisees by speaking to their landlords for rent reductions and deferral, while working with suppliers to ensure continuous supply and support for one another.

Although essential services such as F&B owners in Malaysia are allowed to operate during the MCO, Marrybrown said its outlets located at airports, theme parks, zoos, entertainment attractions, and a few shopping malls have closed for the entire restriction period, causing overall sales to dip by more than 50%. 

Marrybrown's CEO Joshua Liew said it understands the impact MCO has created for its franchisees as it is difficult for them to conduct business as usual. Hence, it wants to pay it forward by lessening the burden of all outlets and also support Marrybrown's long-term business sustainability. 

“Those in the food and beverage industry will definitely have concerns as now we are heavily relying on delivery and takeaway. This concern is also shared by our franchisers who - like us - have to think of our staff members, our customers and cost of operations, which led to this decision as we want our franchisers to feel confident about the overall economy and business. This is so that they can continue being in a positive state of mind during the MCO and after," he explained. Liew added that franchise partners are like its family and it is important to look after family during this trying time.

While companies scramble to come up with a plan B after the MCO was announced, Liew said Marrybrown implemented digital transformation "years ago", such as its delivery service, and ironed out its operations to ensure it runs smoothly. Hence, this made the sudden switch to plan B manageable, especially with the increase in demand for online orders and delivery.

That said, when the dust has finally settled and the MCO is lifted, Liew explained that businesses will still need time to readjust to recover the profit lost throughout the MCO, while adapting to a new social norm. "The [three-month waiver] should give everyone sufficient time to stablise themselves once more," he added.

“We will continue to support our network of franchise business during these difficult times. We will also continue to assess and respond adequately to the rapidly changing business landscape,” Liew added.

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