While Malaysians are in fear due to Covid-19, with the recent extension of
the Movement Control Order (MCO) to 14 April 2020, many Malaysians are not only concerned for their safety and health but also for their jobs and businesses due to the downfall of the economy during restriction.

In light of this, Malaysia’s largest homegrown halal fast-food chain, Marrybrown has decided to ease the worries of their franchisees by waiving their franchise royalty fee for three months from March to May 2020.

The global pandemic has led to a depletion of sales in industries such as tourism, airlines, events, food and beverages and etc. which adds on to the stress of many business owners and staff as most worry about the security of their jobs and if they are able to achieve their sales target to make ends meet.

“As a responsible corporate citizen and Marrybrown being one of the essential service providers, we are in support of the government’s enforcement of the MCO and we have been advised to adhere to all guidelines meted out by the government and respective local councils. However, we know the kind of impact that MCO has done unto our franchisees as it is difficult for them to conduct business as usual, as such we want to do our part to lessen the burden of all outlets and in support of our long-term business sustainability,” said Dato’ Joshua Liew, Chief Executive Officer of Marrybrown.

Due to these overwhelming occurrences and burden borne by their franchisees, Marrybrown has taken the initiative to not only waive the franchise royalty payment and advertising funds for all their franchisees particularly in this MCO period, but also supporting them by talking to their landlords for rent reductions and deferral, while also working with their suppliers to ensure continuous supply and support for one another.

“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 so that they can continue being in a positive state of mind during the MCO and after. To us, franchisee partners are like family, and during this trying time it is important to look after our family,” explained Dato’ Joshua.

With only essential premises and businesses allowed to operate, this is fortunate for most F&B owners; however, only takeaway and delivery through third-party delivery services are allowed for these F&B operators. Conversely, other Marrybrown outlets located at airports, theme parks, zoos, entertainment attractions and a few shopping malls have been closed completely for the entire restriction period – causing overall sales to drop drastically to more than 50%.

“The sudden announcement of MCO and an extension of it have really forced many businesses to put new plans on hold and to switch to Plan B and execute it within restriction as soon as possible. That said, as Marrybrown has been implementing digital transformation years ago, we are happy to have already implemented our delivery service and smoothen the operations of it, which made the sudden switch to this mode of business still manageable especially now with the increase demand for online ordering platform and delivery in this current situation.”

Dato Joshua mentioned that even upon the MCO lift, businesses will still need time to readjust back to recover profit loss throughout the MCO whilst having to adapt to the new social norm to assure customers of their safety and wellbeing while dining at Marrybrown outlets – which is why three
months should give everyone sufficient time to stabilise themselves once more.

“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,” asserted Dato’ Joshua.

“Covid-19 is a global pandemic that has made a devastating impact on the economy and our business. It has caused immense challenges to many business sectors. However, with our strong committed franchisee partners, together we will walk through these challenging times. We are optimistic that every industry will recover and Marrybrown business will resume back to normal.”

Marrybrown is also currently in the midst of extending this waiver option to their global franchise partners including those in Sweden, China, India, Singapore, Thailand, Maldives and among others affected by the pandemic situation. For further information on Marrybrown’s takeaway and delivery services or franchising opportunities, Marrybrown is more than happy to assist and can be contacted via the details below:

Facebook: MarrybrownMalaysia
Instagram: Marrybrownmy
Youtube: MarrybrownTV
Delivery: http://mbdelivery.com.my
Marrybrown is still operating nationwide for delivery and takeaways except for the following outlets:

1. MB Johor Premium Outlet
2. MB Today’s Mall
3. MB Forest City
4. MB Tanjung Balau
5. MB Genting SkyAvenue
6. MB Genting Grand
7. MB GPO
8. MB Sunway Lagoon
9. MB IRDKL
10. MB Langkawi Underwater World
11. MB Greentown
12. MB Zoo Taiping
13. MB A’Famosa
14. MB Mid Valley Southkey
15. MB Kuala Lipis
16. MB Aeon Kulai
17. MB KKIA
18. MB KLIA
19. MB KLIA2
20. MB Bukit Gambir
21. MB Ayer Hitam
22. MB Nilai
23. MB MYDIN Meru
24. MB IOI Putrajaya
25. MB Mont Kiara