Dubai Deal Springboard For BurgerFuel

By: BurgerFuel | 0 Shares 125 Reads

May 05, 2008 // Franchising.com // BurgerFuel's gourmet fast food will be on sale in Dubai by the end of this year, following the signing of a master franchise agreement between BurgerFuel Worldwide (BFW) and Dubai based Alphamed Group, a subsidiary of the Al Khayyat Investment Group.

The deal is the first master franchise agreement for BFW, and the first step in an international strategy that allows the company to roll-out by fully licensing its systems and intellectual property. BurgerFuel executive director Josef Roberts said the deal was a significant step in developing BurgerFuel as an international brand. The company had targeted Dubai for its first move beyond Australasia because of the city's rapid economic development and its high profile, as well as its proximity to other countries.

"Dubai is all about energy, activity and growth. The city is like a permanent international trade exhibition, which makes it the perfect springboard for us to expand beyond Australasia," he said. The Emirate's first BurgerFuel store would open in the 1,300-acre Festival City, one of the region's premier retail destinations, and more sites were already under consideration. As master franchisee Alphamed Group will fully fund store construction and operational costs. Through its licensing agreement, BFW will support the brand and earn on-going royalties.

Mr Roberts said the Alphamed Group was a substantial corporation, which held the operating rights for a number of global brands throughout the Middle East and would operate all BurgerFuel stores in the UAE. He said that after assessing the growing opportunity for gourmet burgers they decided to partner with BurgerFuel.

"They liked the high quality of our product, but equally valued our operating systems our commitment to international growth, and the global potential of the BurgerFuel brand," he said. "Long term, our opportunities lie in exporting the BurgerFuel concept that has secured global intellectual property rights, provides scalable operating systems, and has a strong brand that people like." Mr Roberts said, following a period of consolidation after it's listing on the NZAX, BurgerFuel was progressing both with its international growth strategy and with the ongoing development of its New Zealand operation. BurgerFuel had opened seven new stores in the past year, and two more were due to open soon, making a total of 25 stores in NZ and two in Sydney.

Mr Roberts said the key to BurgerFuel's international strategy was all about the quality of partners. This would ensure that the brand's premium positioning and the associated intellectual property were protected and enhanced around the world.

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