Many of my readers will be aware that I have followed BurgerFuel Worldwide [BFW.NZ] since its listing in June 2007 and if you have then you will also be aware that I have been a vocal critic of the way the company was brought to the market and the way they have done business and treated their shareholders.The opening of a store in Dubai yesterday continued the tradition of the company over-promising and under-delivering:
"People from all over the world will now get to experience the BurgerFuel culture and food and this will lead to many opportunities for us. In many ways this represents the beginning of our international journey". Josef Roberts, CEO BFW July 2010
The company plans to expand rapidly in Australia - having 100 outlets within five years - and then move into Britain and the United States. Josef Roberts Director BFW May 2007
BurgerFuel founder, Chris Mason, says this store represents a foundation stone for the company's overseas development and its high-traffic location will not just generate interest in the brand in Australia, but further afield as well.
"Kings Cross is very much a tourist Mecca, so this new store will be a showroom for our brand and the BurgerFuel formula."
"The Australian market poses some challenges for us, but the growing sales and great response from the locals to our Newtown store, which opened last December, shows there is a market for us across the Tasman." Chris Mason, BurgerFuel founder, October 2007.
Perhaps company expansion in Dubai will be different to promises of expansion in New Zealand, Australia and other parts of the world that have been, thus far, utter failures.
Prospectus promises of such growth were shouted from the rooftops and this is where the company value put on the IPO was calculated from. The market of course has decided that the company is worth way less than half of the IPO value and I think that is overstating things by half.
The company just simply has to deliver on promises made or face the wrath of the market and negative bastards like me.
The Dubai flourish is just repeating the same old lame marketing formula that may be good way to sell burgers but just doesn't fit with running a business listed on the stockmarket.
Better to under-promise and over-deliver, like they do with their Franchisee's food.
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I still think they should get themselves up to the Gold Coast! There is the potential for a couple of stores there too. Surfers is obvious, but you could possibly get one down in Coolangatta also.
ReplyDeleteAnon, I don't think they would go down well there at all and they know it. Too much established competition of a similar vein to BF.
ReplyDeleteThey have already decided to rethink their Australian ambitions and are now putting all their hopes in the Middle East for promised growth.
They had better hope that growth comes before they run out of cash and ask shareholders for more.