Business
Baskin Robbins Franchise Closes its Last 4 Locations in Thailand

Baskin Robbins has ceased all operations in Thailand after the ice cream retailer was reduced from ten to four locations by the end of 2022. Its stake in Mud & Hound has dropped from 3% to 1%.
Baskin Robbins, the US ice cream chain, will cease operations in Thailand on March 13, 2023, closing all four remaining locations. The Baskin Robbins logo is no longer visible on the website of Mud & Hound, the brand’s Thai owner.
According to the brand’s official Facebook page, Baskin Robbins Thailand, has a ‘permanently closed’ status.
The ice cream logo is not displayed on the Mud & Hound website. In Thailand, the company owns 100% of the franchise rights.
Baskin-Robbins isn’t the only food franchise to fail in Thailand; in March 2022, Carl’s Jr. closed all six of its locations in Bangkok and Pattaya. The R&R Restaurant Group, which owned the franchise rights to run Carl’s Jr. restaurants in Thailand, announced that it could no longer operate.
The Restaurant franchise group stated that it was forced to source key ingredients solely from the United States, citing restrictions imposed by CKE Restaurants Holdings, the parent company of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s.
The company claims that they tried to stay afloat until 2022, but then decided to close because they could no longer afford the operating costs.
In addition to the high cost of imported ingredients, there has been a decline in foreign tourists, a key market for the burger chain.
The burger chain opened its first Thai location in Central Festival Pattaya Beach in 2012.
In addition, due to the economic consequences of Covid-19, American fast-food franchise A&W closed all of its branches in Thailand in 2022.
Global Consumer Plc, the owner of the Thai franchise A&W outlets in Thailand, lost more than 70 million baht. Multiple lockdowns and changing customer behaviour are being blamed for the losses, with the majority of branches located in shopping malls that were closed for much of the pandemic.
A&W has approximately 1,000 franchisee worldwide and opened its first Thai location in 1983
Marugame Seimen, a Japanese udon (noodle) shop franchise chain that first opened in Thailand in 2000, has also announced the indefinite closure of its three Thai locations in March 2022.
The departure of these multinational corporations reveals the deeper structural issues that have been festering in Thailand’s food service industry over the last decade. Dine-in restaurant top lines have been grappling with wafer-thin revenues amid rising costs as competition heats up. Furthermore, Thai youths are less loyal to their predecessors’ brands and are increasingly gravitating toward newfound eateries in search of novel consumption experiences.
Youths who are pressed for time, money, or convenience are choosing cheaper ready meals and snacks from convenience stores over established dine-in restaurants.
While online food ordering increased during the pandemic, the high commissions charged by online food aggregators like Uber Eats, Grab, Gojek, Food Panda, LineMan, Robinhood, and TrueFood are further eroding restaurant top lines.
GlobalData’s 2022 survey captures the dilemma afflicting the Thai hospitality industry, with a far greater proportion of respondents consuming food at least once a week from food delivery services and retail outlets than from full service restaurants or quick service restaurants (QSRs). Food delivery services appear to dominate meal times, with a share of nearly four in five (79%).
When the global health crisis hit the hospitality industry, most food service operators were left with little cash on hand due to the low revenue inflows.
On the plus side, the QSR channel recovered quickly from the pandemic-induced lull in 2021, helped by increased vaccination coverage and the relaxation of pandemic restrictions on eateries.
However, the QSR channel’s post-COVID-19 recovery will be hampered by underlying challenges, particularly low profit margins. As a result, GlobalData expects Thai QSR revenues to remain well below pre-pandemic levels for the foreseeable future.
Finally, it is up to HoReCa operators to reach an agreement on floor prices for food and services in order to ensure long-term business sustainability and resilience in the face of shocks like the pandemic.

Business
PepsiCo Reduces Revenue Projections As North American Snacks And Key International Markets Underperform.

(VOR News) – In the third quarter of this year, Pepsi’s net income was $2.93 billion, which is equivalent to $2.13 per share. This was attributed to the company.
This is in stark contrast to net income of $3.09 billion, which is equivalent to $2.24 per share, during the same period in the previous year. The company’s earnings per share were $2.31 when expenses were excluded.
Net sales decreased by 0.6%, totaling $23.32 billion. Organic sales increased by 1.3% during the quarter when the effects of acquisitions, divestitures, and currency changes are excluded.
Pepsi’s beverage sales fell this quarter.
The most recent report indicates that the beverage and food sectors of the organization experienced a 2% decline in volume. Consumers of all income levels are demonstrating a change in their purchasing habits, as indicated by CEOs’ statements from the previous quarter.
Pepsi’s entire volume was adversely affected by the lackluster demand they encountered in North America. An increasing number of Americans are becoming more frugal, reducing the number of snacks they ingest, and reducing the number of times they purchase at convenience stores.
Furthermore, Laguarta observed that the increase in sales was partially attributed to the election that occurred in Mexico during the month of June.
The most significant decrease in volume was experienced by Quaker Foods North America, which was 13%. In December, the company announced its initial recall in response to a potential salmonella infection.
Due to the probability of an illness, the recall was extended in January. Pepsi officially closed a plant that was implicated in the recalls in June, despite the fact that manufacturing had already been halted.
Jamie Caulfield, the Chief Financial Officer of Pepsi and Laguarta, has indicated that the recalls are beginning to have a lessening effect.
Frito-Lay experienced a 1.5% decline in volume in North America. The company has been striving to improve the value it offers to consumers and the accessibility of its snack line, which includes SunChips, Cheetos, and Stacy’s pita chips, in the retail establishments where it is sold.
Despite the fact that the category as a whole has slowed down in comparison to the results of previous years, the level of activity within the division is progressively increasing.
Pepsi executives issued a statement in which they stated that “Salty and savory snacks have underperformed year-to-date after outperforming packaged food categories in previous years.”
Pepsi will spend more on Doritos and Tostitos in the fall and winter before football season.
The company is currently promoting incentive packets for Tostitos and Ruffles, which contain twenty percent more chips than the standard package.
Pepsi is expanding its product line in order to more effectively target individuals who are health-conscious. The business announced its intention to acquire Siete Foods for a total of $1.2 billion approximately one week ago. The restaurant serves Mexican-American cuisine, which is typically modified to meet the dietary needs of a diverse clientele.
The beverage segment of Pepsi in North America experienced a three percent decrease in volume. Despite the fact that the demand for energy drinks, such as Pepsi’s Rockstar, has decreased as a result of consumers visiting convenience stores, the sales of well-known brands such as Gatorade and Pepsi have seen an increase throughout the quarter.
Laguarta expressed his opinion to the analysts during the company’s conference call, asserting, “I am of the opinion that it is a component of the economic cycle that we are currently experiencing, and that it will reverse itself in the future, once consumers feel better.”
Additionally, it has been noted that the food and beverage markets of South Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa have experienced a decline in sales volume. The company cut its forecast for organic revenue for the entire year on Tuesday due to the business’s second consecutive quarter of lower-than-anticipated sales.
The company’s performance during the quarter was adversely affected by the Quaker Foods North America recalls, the decrease in demand in the United States, and the interruptions that occurred in specific international markets, as per the statements made by Chief Executive Officer Ramon Laguarta.
Pepsi has revised its forecast for organic sales in 2024, shifting from a 4% growth rate to a low single-digit growth rate. The company reiterated its expectation that the core constant currency profitability per share will increase by a minimum of 8% in comparison to the previous year.
The company’s shares declined by less than one percent during premarket trading. The following discrepancies between the company’s report and the projections of Wall Street were identified by LSEG in a survey of analysts:
SOURCE: CNBC
SEE ALSO:
Old National Bank And Infosys Broaden Their Strategic Partnership.
Business
Old National Bank And Infosys Broaden Their Strategic Partnership.

(VOR News) – Old National Bank, a commercial bank with its headquarters in the Midwest, and Infosys, a firm that specializes in information technology, have recently entered into a strategic expansion of their link, which has been in place for the past four years.
This expansion is more likely to take place sooner rather than later, with the likelihood being higher.
For the purpose of making it possible for Old National Bank to make use of the services, solutions, and platforms that are offered by Infosys, the objective of this expansion is to make it possible for the bank to transform its operations and processes through the application of automation and GenAI, as well as to change significant business areas.
This lets the bank leverage Infosys’ services, solutions, and platforms.
Old National Bank Chairman and CEO Jim Ryan said, “At Old National, we are committed to creating exceptional experiences for both our customers and our fellow employees.”
This statement is applicable to Old National Bank. Infosys is carefully managing the business process innovations that it is putting us through, putting a strong emphasis on efficiency and value growth throughout the process to ensure that it is carried out efficiently.
This is a routine occurrence throughout the entire operation. Because of Infosys’ dedication to our development and success, we are incredibly appreciative of the assistance they have provided.
Old National has been receiving assistance from Infosys in the process of updating its digital environment since the year 2020, according to the aforementioned company.
Ever since that time, the company has been providing assistance. The provision of this assistance has been accomplished through the utilization of a model that is not only powerful but also capable of functioning on its own power.
Infosys currently ranks Old National thirty-first out of the top thirty US banks.
This ranking is based on the fact that Old National is the nation’s largest banking corporation.
It is estimated that the total value of the company’s assets is approximately fifty-three billion dollars, while the assets that are currently being managed by the organization are valued at thirty billion dollars.
Dennis Gada, the Executive Vice President and Global Head of Banking and Financial Services, stated that “Old National Bank and Infosys possess a robust cultural and strategic alignment in the development, management, and enhancement of enterprise-scale solutions to transform the bank’s operations and facilitate growth.”
This remark referenced the exceptional cultural and strategic synergy between the two organizations. Dennis Gada is the one who asserted this claim. This was articulated explicitly concerning the exceptional cultural congruence and strategy alignment of the two organizations.
We are pleased to announce that the implementation of Infosys Topaz will substantially expedite the transformation of Old National Bank’s business processes and customer service protocols. We are exceedingly enthusiastic about this matter. We are quite thrilled about this specific component of the scenario.
Medium-sized banks operating regionally will continue to benefit from our substantial expertise in the sector, technology, and operations. This specific market segment of Infosys will persist in benefiting from our extensive experience. This phenomenon will enable this market sector to sustain substantial growth and efficiency benefits.
SOURCE: THBL
SEE ALSO:
American Water, The Largest Water Utility In US, Is Targeted By A Cyberattack
States Sue TikTok, Claiming Its Platform Is Addictive And Harms The Mental Health Of Children
Qantas Airways Apologizes After R-Rated Film Reportedly Airs On Every Screen During Flight
Business
American Water, The Largest Water Utility In US, Is Targeted By A Cyberattack

The largest regulated water and wastewater utility company in the United States stated Monday that it had been the target of a cyberattack, forcing the company to halt invoicing to consumers.
American Water, The Largest Water Utility In US, Is Targeted By A Cyberattack
American Water, based in New Jersey and serving over 14 million people in 14 states and 18 military facilities, said it learned of the unauthorized activity on Thursday and quickly took precautions, including shutting down certain systems. The business does not believe the attack had an impact on its facilities or operations and said employees were working “around the clock” to determine the origin and scale of the attack.
According to their website, American Water operates over 500 water and wastewater systems in around 1,700 communities across California, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
SOURCE | AP
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