Restaurant franchisee Wendy’s Japan has agreed to buy out First Kitchen from Suntory Holdings, which involves 136 restaurants.
The idea is to expand Wendy’s footprint in Japan by converting the First Kitchen outlets into Wendy’s First Kitchen restaurants, and building new locations over time. Wendy’s First Kitchen is a hybrid concept, offering a blended, revamped menu and refreshed decor. It has been on test in Tokyo.
To enable the acquisition, anticipated to be complete by the end of this month, private equity firm The Longreach Group bought a majority stake in Wendy’s Japan, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Higa Industries.
“With the First Kitchen restaurant brand being well established with a presence in many desirable, busy locations throughout Japan, we anticipate the acquisition will leverage the strengths of both Wendy’s and First Kitchen, while providing a springboard for growth,” says The Wendy’s Company executive VP and COO Bob Wright.
“This deal would not have been possible without the vision and dedication of Ernie Higa and the Wendy’s Japan team, who understand the importance of customer service, continuous innovation and playing a different game when competing against well-entrenched restaurant competitors.
“This is an example of how we are bringing our ‘narrow and deep’ international strategy to life by initially focusing on four key markets – Japan, India, Brazil and the Middle East – where we see considerable upside potential over the next few years.
“We believe our best approach is to support our franchisees in building Wendy’s brand strength in local markets and enhancing the economic model of their restaurants.”
Wendy’s First Kitchen offers Japanese consumers hamburgers and chicken sandwiches, plus pasta and other First Kitchen favourites. Two locations, opened in the Roppongi and Ueno districts of Tokyo last year, have performed well.
The Wendy’s Company is the world’s third-largest quick-service hamburger company and has about 6500 franchise and company-run restaurants in the US and 28 other countries.
* Photo credit: rhettmatic.
