Burger Fuel unveils 2012 MidEast expansion plans
Burger Fuel has announced sales figures for the period of April 1-September 30, 2011, revealing the Middle East as a lucrative area for the franchise company and prompting further expansion plans here.
Sales increased by 47.29% to US $2,078,410 in the region, compared to the same period last year, generated by the six outlets, three in Dubai and three in Saudi Arabia.
Now joint CEO Chris Mason has announced further development plans that see Burger Fuel concentrating efforts in the region, rather than in New Zealand or Australia.
“Next year is going to be a big year for us – we’re really gathering momentum. We have three more stores in Saudi planned, and six stores in Dubai already signed off and under construction. We have two in Abu Dhabi, and one in Sulaymaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan, which is due to open mid-Jan.
“It’s been a bit of a challenge opening in Iraq,” he went on to explain. “Getting the New Zealand produce there has been tough because of the lack of government control. There are road blocks and we’ve had to think creatively at times. However, we’re in and we’re hiring locals.
“We had management in Egypt who trained in Dubai go over to train the staff. It’s taken longer than we thought it would, but hopefully we’re all set to open there mid-Jan.
“It’s not like we were desperate to move in there,” Mason said. “We were approached by Iraqis who knew us from New Zealand, and they kept coming back and wanted to be the first on the list if we decided to do it, so we decided to give it a shot.
“We’ve also sold a licence to Egypt and we will open in Cairo in the second quarter of 2012. We also have one outlet on the cards in Libya. We sold the right before the trouble kicked off, and I predict it will take about 12 months for the country to work itself out, but now people want to go in again.
“We are using Dubai as the international hub and all our territories are within a two to-three-hour flight from here. We are hoping to create about 10 stores in each country within that flight radius.
Talking about the difference between the New Zealand menu offerings and Middle East menu offering, Mason said: “The difference is that in the Middle East there is less emphasis on nutrition. In New Zealand we’re known as serving whole food: good New Zealand beef, and we have organic items.
“There’s also a lot of emphasis on vegetarian food. We’re part of the vegetarian society and 10% of our sales are vegetarian, whereas here only 1% of them are. In New Zealand we offer soy malt milkshakes and have three different kinds of veggie burger.
“Here we still have a disproportionate amount of vegetarian options on the menu compared to vegetarian sales, but there’s not as much interest. People just want to eat a really good cheeseburger.
“There’s also a bigger focus on the family here. Our target market is usually 18-35 year olds, but we are looking to develop kids areas of the menus.
Burger Fuel has announced that it is looking for new franchise opportunities in New Zealand but due to economic uncertainty will be moving forward only in a controlled and methodic process and concentrating mainly on growing sales in existing outlets.
The company closed its Australian Kings Cross outlet in November 2012, leaving just one in the country.