The Philippines – American ice cream brand Baskin-Robbins has announced through a Facebook post that they will permanently close down their stores in the Philippines this coming 31 December.

“To our dear customers, it’s been an incredible journey over the last 8 years, but unfortunately we will be permanently closing our doors on Dec 31, 2022,” the post read.

The post, however, did not indicate a specific reason for the closure. 

To thank their patrons, Baskin-Robbins offered a range of promos available until closure. “As a gesture of our thanks for your valued patronage over the years, we are pleased to offer a range of promos from November 26 – December 31, 2022,” the post stated.

The offers are as follows: getting a free scoop with any junior/value scoop purchase; a Buy 1 Take 1 deal on all pints, quarts and half gallons; and getting a tub of 86 scoops for only ₱3,500.

“Once again, thank you very much for everything. It’s been an honor to be of service to all of you,” Baskin-Robbins concluded.

Baskin-Robbins was officially launched in the Philippines in 2014, with its first local store established at Central Square in Bonifacio Global City. 

The local stores’ closure follows Baskin-Robbins’ global rebrand, which unveiled the brand’s new logo, packaging, and tagline.

Sweden – The Swedish-grown fast-fashion brand H & M has revealed in its nine-month financial report that it will be shutting down 250 of its physical stores by 2021.

H & M disclosed that it has been putting stores into temporary closure since March due to the negative impact on sales development brought about by the pandemic, where at most, approximately 80 percent of the group’s stores have been shut down.

CEO Helena Helmersson said that the coronavirus outbreak prompted more customers to start shopping online during the pandemic, and they are making it clear that they value a convenient and inspiring experience in which physical stores and online channels interact and strengthen each other.

“The substantial investments made in recent years have been very important for our recovery and we are now accelerating our transformation work further to meet customers’ expectations. We are increasing digital investments, accelerating store consolidation, and making the channels further integrated. To ensure that our offerings are relevant to customers and improve availability in all channels, speed and flexibility will be even more important in the future, particularly in the supply chain.”

Currently, the brand operates its own online shopping website, www2.hm.com.