By Natasha Li / Staff reporterMr Brown Coffee (伯朗咖啡) would close up to 10 of its coffeeshops nationwide, Chinese-language media reported yesterday, citing its operator, King Car Group (金車). King Car would close the stores when their leases expire due to lower-than-expected profits, the United Daily News and Commercial Times reported. The company launched its series of canned Mr Brown Coffee products in 1982 and opened its first coffeeshop in 1998. Convenience stores, which are constantly changing their marketing strategies, offer strong competition and might be another reason for the closure of Mr Brown Coffee shops, Knight Frank Taiwan researcher Andy Huang (黃舒衛) said. King Car has sought to reposition itself in the domestic coffee shop market and slowly transformed Mr Brown stores to offer more food options such as light meals and snacks.
