The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Strategic decision · 1998–2020
Bakerzin went from 17 outlets to zero in Singapore's brutal F&B market
Singapore's pioneering patisserie-cafe chain grew to 17 outlets across 4 countries, then wound up in 2020 citing high rents and a flagging business.
Bakerzin Holdings · 2020-10-05
What happened
Bakerzin was a Singapore patisserie-cafe chain founded in 1998 by award-winning pastry chef Daniel Tay. Originally named Baker's Inn, it was rebranded as Bakerzin in 2004. The chain filled a market gap for affordable, quality desserts that until then were only available at hotel pastry shops. It grew rapidly, achieving an annual turnover of S$13–S$14 million and expanding to 17 outlets across Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia by 2016.
The expansion masked structural weaknesses. Rising retail rents in Singapore squeezed margins, and international ventures failed — a Thailand expansion cost a six-figure loss, and a United States outlet collapsed due to franchisee mismanagement. Tay sold the business in 2007 during the financial crisis, citing high rents as a small player. By October 2020, the chain had shrunk to five remaining outlets islandwide.
On October 5, 2020, Bakerzin Holdings issued notice of a creditors' meeting for the purpose of winding up. All five outlets closed within days. The company requested Gardens By The Bay to terminate its lease early. Staff had been retrenched in the months leading up to the closure. Its website was taken offline and no public statement was issued.
Why it happened
- High retail rents in Singapore eroded margins across all outlets, a structural cost that increased faster than the chain could pass through to customers.
- International expansion added losses rather than diversification — a Thailand venture and a US franchise both failed, draining cash from the core Singapore business.
- Founder Daniel Tay sold the business in 2007, and without its original owner-operator the chain lost the entrepreneurial drive that had built the brand.
- By the time the chain started closing outlets it was already too small to achieve the economies of scale needed to survive Singapore's high-rent F&B environment.
The lesson
In Singapore's high-rent F&B market, a dessert chain needs scale. Bakerzin had 17 outlets at peak and still could not cover rent. Every foreign failure compounded the problem at home.
Aftermath
Bakerzin Holdings was wound up in October 2020. Creditors held a meeting to confirm the appointment of a liquidator. Founder Daniel Tay continued operating his other ventures, including Cat & The Fiddle and Old Seng Choong. The closure was reported by The Business Times and The Straits Times as part of a broader wave of homegrown F&B brands exiting Singapore.
Sources
- The Business Times — Ovens go cold at F&B chain Bakerzin after 22 years (2020)
- The Straits Times — Home-grown patisserie-cafe chain Bakerzin winds up its 5 outlets in Singapore (2020)
- Wiki.sg — Bakerzin
- Vulcan Post — Bakerzin Calls It Quits After 22 Years (2020)
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