In The News

Managers from head office in Sydney told the franchisees the price cut would lift overall sales and benefit everybody.

LYN BAYAKLY: I remember sitting in a meeting in October of last year with a bunch of people from head office that came over here to WA and I was looking around the room and I'm looking at them thinking, "You guys have all got degrees in something and you've all failed Year Four maths."

PAT MCGRATH: Sales did go up, but Lyn Bayakly was selling pizzas below cost.

LYN BAYAKLY: So when there's no profit margin, when you're actually losing on every transaction, the higher your transaction count, the more money you lose and the quicker you lose it.

PAT MCGRATH: Now Lyn Bayakly has joined dozens of franchisees in a class action against Yum! Brands. They claim the company acted unconscionably and breached its duty to ensure franchisees as well as the parent company can make a profit.

Morton says the success or failure of stores is in the hands of their operators. 'It comes down to their processes ... how much value-added did they do to the product? How much trimming did they do? Are they prepared to buy more bodies of beef in and break more bodies of beef down rather than buying mince trim in?'

Morton says making a store profitable can be complex. 'A good butcher should have those skills, but it will vary,' he says.

Mad Butcher franchisees are restricted to purchasing product from a list of more than 30 approved suppliers such as Tegel, Wilson Hellaby and Affco.

'They can play one supplier off against another [to get better pricing] ... And some franchisees are a lot better at doing that than other franchisees,' says Morton.

He rejects claims that he has acted in a threatening manner during meetings with franchisees who wanted to get out of struggling stores. 'What I've said in meetings is, "Don't just think you can walk away from your debts. Don't believe that a liquidator is just going to make this all go away."'

"While it would be premature to start speculating now, we have been scanning the market in a number of sectors, including Mexican, and Asian," Van Arkel said.

Burger joint Carls Jr might also be making an entrance to the Christchurch market. The chain is established in the North Island, with a number of stores in Auckland, but has not yet made the shift down South.

In early 2014, an internal fraud report found disproportionately high refunds being paid out, which dovetailed with shifts when Tiongson was acting as manager.

She admitted she had her hand in the till during a disciplinary hearing and was duly dismissed.

Her defence counsel was also "somewhat surprised" to see the franchise owner at McDonalds was keen for her to avoid a custodial sentence.

Judge Ronayne, however, did not share their sympathy.

"I'm not sure she had any belief she was entitled to take the money. On the contrary, I think she knew perfectly well she shouldn't take it," he said.

"The motivation for this was a combination of misplaced need but also some greed. I can't ignore the comments to the probation officer that having got away with it, it simply became a habit."

McDonald's new global chief executive, Steve Easterbrook, unveiled a major restructuring plan last month that aims to improve the Golden Arches' poor recent performance.

The company is hoping to save US$300 million a year by 2017 by selling more than 3000 company-owned outlets to franchisees, which would increase the proportion of franchise-run outlets globally to 90 per cent from around 80 per cent currently.

McDonald's New Zealand managing director Patrick Wilson was unavailable for comment today.

Company spokesman Simon Kenny said there had been "no material impact" from the restructuring in this country so far.

"It's been business as usual since the announcement," he said.

Restaurant Brands - whose businesses include Pizza Hut, KFC and Carl's Jr - posted a 9.2 per cent lift in sales, to $359.5 million, for the year to March 2.

Its profit jumped 19.4 per cent to $23.8 million.

Managing director James Tucker said the funds would have let Mad Group open another six to eight Mad Mex stores, to add to the six stores it has already, and achieve "critical mass".

Tucker said he remained "100 per cent confident" Mad Group would raise the funds it needed to grow Mad Mex.

It would now approach the 98 investors who had applied for shares to see if they were still keen to subscribe for them in a private offer, he said.

Discussions were also planned with other potential investors who had come forward as a result of the campaign and who had expressed interest in separately investing sums between $150,000 and $1.5 million, he said.

Mad Group's bank had offered further support to expand the enterprise, which meant it would only need about $500,000 to see through its original expansion plan, he said.

"There are a lot of wheels in motion that couldn't start until the offer closed on Friday, so now this week we are full steam into working through these other options."

Tucker believed New Zealand could support 30 to 50 Mad Mex stores in the "medium term" and said he was not sure why the equity crowdfunding campaign had fallen short.

"The business is focused on achieving revenue growth through boosting current sales, opening new stores and investigating new territories," said chairman Keith Jackson. "Cooks sees significant opportunities to export New Zealand's cafe culture into new markets and existing markets."

In the latest year, revenue doubled to $8.9 million from a restated $4.4 million the year earlier. Three quarters of the revenue came from the Esquires Coffee House unit, with the remainder from the supply division, which includes Scarborough Fair beverage products and Progressive Processors' kiwifruit and asparagus, which supply Esquires stores and other customers.

The Verge website reports:

'There are four different boxes, each of which comes with a separate movie download via a QR code. They're called Slice Night (for horror fans), Anchovy Armageddon (for science-fiction), Hot & Ready (for romance), and Fully Loaded (for an action flick). The box itself is fittingly called the "Blockbuster Box."

Of course, you'll need a very dark room to be able to make out anything from the "projector," and even then, the quality will still be pretty piss-poor. That's not to mention the fact that you'll probably get your phone all greasy by sticking it in that pizza box, and that you'll have to try to make out whatever muffled audio makes it through the walls of the pizza box. We're not letting that stop us from trying it out though — we just need to find a way to get to Hong Kong first.'

'Hong Kong-based Emerald Foods Group (HK) bought 100 percent of the shares in Foreman's Emerald Foods subsidiary on June 3, according to Companies Office filings, completing an acquisition that had been approved by the Overseas Investment Office in April. The acquisition needed OIO approval because Emerald Foods owned sensitive land in East Tamaki, Auckland.

Foreign acquisitions need OIO approval where there is an interest in sensitive land, or the transaction is more than $100 million. The value of the Emerald deal was withheld.

The Hong Kong entity is 80 percent owned by Australian interests, with US investors holding almost 16 percent and other overseas people holding 4.3 percent, according to the OIO summary.

"The applicant intends to develop the business located on the land, with particular regard to exports to China," the OIO summary said. The office granted approval after being satisfied it would increase export receipts and attract additional investment for development. It also met the consequential benefits test, where the OIO believes it will provide additional New Zealand investment, sponsorship or community projects.'

Tens of thousands of Happy Meals were sold across Mexico every day and nearly one billion pieces of Zespri SunGold would be sold around the world this season, she said.

"Mexico is a sophisticated fruit market and consumers have responded really positively to the sweet tropical taste of Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit.

"Mexico is a relatively undeveloped market for Zespri - we're forecasting sales volumes of around 750,000 trays in Mexico this season, up 50 per cent from last season.

"This marketing partnership is a great step toward establishing both our brand and gold kiwifruit, which is largely unknown in this region, to families across Mexico.

See video here.

“This is possibly the most ridiculous example of corporate welfare we’ve seen yet. You work hard, you pay your rates and Upper Hutt City spends it on a burger joint,” Taxpayers’ Union executive director Jordan Williams says.

“Sucking money out of a community to spend it on a favoured business isn’t economic development, it’s robbing the poor to pay the rich. Money that would have been spent by citizens has been funnelled into the pockets of BurgerFuel’s investors."

In a press release, the council says the incentive is part of a scheme aimed at encouraging new business into the city.

Businesses that want to set up in the city can apply for a “package,” which can include grant funding, as well as discounts and, in some cases, cost waivers on council services.

Shares in gourmet burger company BurgerFuel jumped more than 21 per cent yesterday after it announced a partnership with California-based franchisor OhCal Foods as part of its plan to break into the US market.

The New Zealand burger chain, which also operates in Australia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, has been eyeing the competitive US market since early last year when it raised $5.9 million from US investor Franchise Brands to help fund its global growth aspirations.

BurgerFuel chief executive Josef Roberts said the latest partnership with OhCal, which services more than 2100 Subway restaurant outlets, was its next strategic move.

Z chief executive Mike Bennetts said Mike Bennetts said Z would operate two brands throughout the combined service station network. Z would continue with its new build programme on prime sites around New Zealand.

"The acquisition is also a great fit with our longer term market growth strategy," said Bennetts.

"Caltex is a successful and highly attractive business in New Zealand and the acquisition means we can use the scale of the combined operation for the expanded supply of biodiesel to a broader market."

He said the Commerce Commission and Overseas Investment Office processes were expected to take some months. "It is very much business as usual for Z, with a continued focus on safety, people and operational excellence."

Who does what?

McDonald's NZ carried out waste audit.

Restaurant Brands wouldn't reveal stance, but operations "tightly controlled".

Farro Fresh donates to Fair Foods.

Muffin Break no policy, up to individual owner.

Brumby's bakeries charities.

Baker's Delight must be given away.

Countdown variety of charity partners.

Foodstuffs charities, including Food Harvest.

Fruit World no policy, stock sold off cheap or given to pig farmers.

Nosh - no comment.

The Mad Butcher business continues to trade to expectations and we envisage results for the franchisor business to be on target. In April 2015, the first Mini Mad Butcher store has been opened in Mosgiel and is proving a successful format. The company will look for open further mini style stores at appropriate locations around the country. There are 4 Mad Butcher stores held for sale, which will be sold as franchisees are identified and approved.

McDonald's Chief Executive Steve Easterbrook, who took the helm on March 1, is fighting on numerous fronts as he works to turn around the company, which saw profit and revenue fall in 2014 after service times slowed and nimbler rivals picked off customers with menus that appeal to growing appetites for fresher, less-processed food.

Despite opposition from McDonald's, 61 percent of voting shareholders said yes to a proposal that would make it easier for long-term investors to list director candidates on company proxy materials.

The UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust brought the proxy access proposal before investors because "McDonald's board needs to be more accountable for these performance lapses," the Trust's Corporate Governance Director Cambria Allen said at the meeting, which was closed to media but accessible via webcast.

Zhang is spearheading the drive to sell Kiwi coffee culture to her home country, just 11 years after arriving in New Zealand as a migrant who found her first job serving in a cafe near Auckland's Britomart transport station. She went on to buy into her first Esquires shop franchise.

She said her dual cultural background had helped her do business. She said: "There is a lot of opportunity for us in China as there is a trend to drink coffee and talk business. At one time coffee would have been reserved for foreigners, and you would have had to go to a hotel to get it.

"Now, if Chinese people don't visit coffee shops they are considered old-fashioned and behind the times!