The Cats Café Singapore

Introduction

The cats café Singapore was launched in June 2014 to create an environment for cats lovers to catch up with friends over premium coffee and freshly baked pastries among the feline companions. With the new report and issues surrounding the cats death at the Cuddle Cat Café in 2013 , the management of the Cat  Café Singapore sees a decline in the number of visitors at its outlet located at Victoria Street in the past months; and is very concern of the future of its business . according to this situation , this paper will propose a promotional campaign with rationale to address the concern of the management .

The international phenomenon originated in Taipei, Taiwan where the world’s first feline café, Cat Flower Garden, opened in 1998.  Curious tourists soon discovered the pet paradise and brought the concept over to Japan. The first Japanese cat café opened in Osaka in 2005, and now there are said to be nearly 40 in Tokyo alone.

In European, it can be seen that the cat cafés industry developing with an incredibly speed. Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium was the first of its kind to open up in East London in last year. The successful cat café takes bookings 50 days ahead and usually about 90% of them book out about 5-6 weeks in advance. The bookings that linger about are the 9am timeslots, but​ usually from two weeks ahead, every single slot will be taken.

The Aussie owner, Lauren Pears, managed to raise an astonishing £108,000 through crowdfunding in order to put her dreams into reality. Though the business has been a success, the owner is a little wary about the sudden rise of cat cafés everywhere.

“Cat cafés are still in their infancy here and we've seen a very recent cautionary tale springing up in Singapore with the sudden burst of cat cafés in the city. Earlier this year, one of them was closed down after serious animal welfare issues resulted in the deaths of several cats.”

She emphasizes that even though the job is fun and rewarding, it's also comes with serious responsibility.

“There was some definite 'jumping on the bandwagon' going on in Singapore and it's a good example of why local authorities have to be as thorough and careful as Tower Hamlets were with us, making sure that everything has been thought through and standards will be maintained.”

Most cat cafés in Singapore opened between 2013 to 2014 . According to the research , five

formal registers in Singapore of animal companions them café and firm proponents of cat

therapy is admitted,  which are ,  Cat Café Neko No Niwa, The Cat Café , The Cuddles Cat

Café , The Meomi Cat Café and The Company of Cats . Most of them located in the downtown

of Singapore.

Generally , the cover charge of those kind of theme cafés is between $12-15 SGD for first

hour inclusive of a standard drink ,subsequently $5 per half hour. Some of their cats are

rescues and they donate a portion of their profits to the Animal Lovers League.

As the first cat café craze in Singapore , Cat Café Neko no Niwa (54A Boat Quay) might be the most established and well known one of its kind of group. With more than 15 years of cat care experience behind them, the owner Sam and Sue launched this café in December 2013. They are firm proponents of cat therapy and the indescribable joy and relaxation that it comes with, and wants to share the joy and knowledge of cat ownership which seem to be lacking in Singapore; Cuddles Cat Café stands as the largest cat café in Singapore by far. Its 2,500 square feet space at *SCAPE are ‘staffed’ by 28 furry felines to start, with plenty of room for more. Choose from 3 distinct themed zones inspired by Mother Nature - Sunset, Night and Sea. The café opens till 11pm daily, making it a very viable late-night hangout right in the centre of town.

Whilst most cafes are very much selling the cutesy cuddly factor of their resident cats, Meomi Cat Café aims to balance out customers’ experiences by offering savoury pastries and beverages along with quality time with the cats. All paid entries include a complimentary drink. What started out as a clubhouse for cat owners has transformed itself into a cat café with books to read, delicious food and cuppa’ Joe. And of course the cats; who literally run the place with feline mugshots staring at you from the company organization chart. The café business just got real catty. Similar to Meomi Cat Café, The Company of Cats also rewards their patrons with a standard drink per entry and they charge no service charge & GST. Kudos for their corporate social responsibility, where a portion of the café’s profits go to Animal Lovers League, a local animal shelter.