Less than three years after Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins entered the market, the American franchises are closing shop in South Africa.
The ice cream and donut businesses are part of Grand Parade Investments which also owns the Burger King franchise in SA.
The two American offerings were both launched in 2016 to much fanfare, but have failed to make inroads in the market.
In a statement, the company says: “The decision to exit Dunkin Donuts and Baskin-Robbins was made following sustained losses in these businesses and an unsuccessful process to dispose of these businesses."
It’s believed that the capital the company had invested in the two franchises will now be redirected to Burger King, to cement this business in the Quick Service Restaurant sector in SA.
Both Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins never expanded outside of Cape Town and there were no other outlets in the country.
There were eleven Dunkin Donuts stores and five Baskin-Robbins stores in the Mother City, most of them in malls and shopping centres.