Vietnamese Café Seizes Prime HCMC Location Once Home to Starbucks’ $29K Monthly Spot

A Vietnamese coffee shop has taken over a prime retail space on Han Thuyen Street in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1, eight months after Starbucks closed its high-end store there.

Adoré – World Coffee is now leasing the three-story building for VND700 million per month—slightly below the VND750 million (around US$29,000) Starbucks had previously paid. Despite the drop, the rent remains nearly twice the average for the area, which is considered a prime location in Vietnams’ biggest city.

The estate boasts a frontage exceeding eight meters along with appealing vistas from higher levels, which account for its steep cost, as stated by realty experts.

A structure currently undergoing refurbishment on Han Thuyen Street in Ho Chi Minh City, which previously housed a Starbucks flagship outlet. Photo by VnExpress/Anh Ky

According to brokers, it took the owner of the Han Thuyen building eight months to secure a new tenant due to the oversupply of properties in the downtown area of Ho Chi Minh City, where numerous buildings have remained unoccupied for extended periods.

The proprietors of these structures seldom hurry to locate occupants but opt to maintain elevated rental prices.

Starbucks has meanwhile found a new location in Bitexco Financial Tower a iconic structure, for its high-end store concept.

The newly opened store spans 500 square meters, and considering that retail spaces on the lower levels of the tower go for approximately $150 per square meter, it amounts to a monthly rent of about $75,000 before any discounts are applied to long-term occupants.

Starbucks intends to launch an additional upscale outlet in Ho Chi Minh City during July, situated in a downtown area.

VnExpress has discovered that the site is probably going to be Diamond Plaza, which is situated 300 meters from Han Thuien Street.