CaliToday (22/11/2025): Café Amazon, the colossal coffee chain owned by Thailand's state-controlled oil and gas company PTT, has made the quiet but significant decision to cease all operations in Vietnam, marking a definitive end to its ambitious five-year effort to penetrate the hyper-competitive Vietnamese coffee market.
The withdrawal underscores the immense challenges faced by foreign brands trying to compete with Vietnam’s deeply ingrained local coffee culture and powerful domestic chains.
The Vietnamese Battleground: A Market Too Tough to Crack
Café Amazon, which boasts over 4,000 outlets and is the largest coffee chain by volume in Thailand and across Southeast Asia, officially shuttered its remaining locations in major cities, including its flagship store in Ho Chi Minh City, earlier this quarter.
The primary obstacles cited for the retreat include:
Pricing Pressure: Vietnam is dominated by highly competitive local giants like Highlands Coffee and The Coffee House, and a vast network of affordable street-side cafes. Café Amazon’s pricing structure—often positioned as a premium international brand—failed to gain traction with the average Vietnamese consumer.
Cultural Mismatch: The chain struggled to adapt its Thai-centric menu and store concept to Vietnamese palates, which strongly favor traditional robusta-based cà phê sữa đá (iced milk coffee). While Amazon attempted to localize, its core offerings did not resonate against the local favorites.
High Real Estate Costs: Establishing a strong presence in prime Vietnamese urban locations requires significant capital investment in highly-priced real estate, which further strained the company's operating margins in a price-sensitive market.
A Regional Powerhouse Stumbles
Café Amazon initially entered Vietnam in 2020 with high expectations, leveraging its vast regional experience and the massive financial backing of its parent company, PTT. Its expansion strategy focused on positioning itself as a comfortable, green-themed refuge aimed at young urban professionals and families.
The company had planned an aggressive expansion aiming for dozens of stores, but the slow consumer uptake and the onset of economic challenges meant the chain never achieved the scale necessary for profitability.
Industry Analyst Commentary: “Vietnam is one of the toughest coffee markets in the world for an international brand. Consumers here are fiercely loyal to local taste profiles and demand excellent value. Café Amazon’s model, which thrives near gas stations in other parts of ASEAN, simply couldn’t translate to the bustling, street-oriented dynamics of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.”
The closure is being closely watched as a cautionary tale for other foreign food and beverage chains eyeing Vietnam's lucrative, but fiercely defended, domestic consumer market. While Café Amazon retreats to focus on its core markets, its locations are already being snapped up by fast-growing Vietnamese competitors eager to consolidate their market dominance.