Burger Fuel management cagey over company progress

Further to the story about Burger Fuel Worldwide[BFW] signing a master franchise deal with a business in Dubai, I mentioned I was going to ask Josef Roberts, Executive director of the company a couple of questions to flesh out the details of the deal to the market and his investors.

He was very accommodating before the July IPO, granting me an email interview about where the company was going, in some detail.


Here were the questions I put to him yesterday


Hi Josef, I hope you are well.

Interesting announcement today re the Dubai franchise deal. It took me by surprise.

On that note, I wonder if you could inform my readers as to some of the finer points of the deal and some of the reasons why you took the business across the other side of the planet.

Assuming you could answer some questions because the market is speculating.


1: why are you going to develop a new overseas market before establishing the current Australian one?

2: Did the Dubai company approach BF or you them?

3: Are the terms of the master franchise similar to that of individual franchisee agreements in New Zealand?

4: What number of outlets do you see in Dubai?

5: Are customers likely to be locals or expat kiwis/Aussies/Brits etc?

6: How will the BF menu be different in such a unique country?

7: What experience does the Dubai company have being a food franchisor?

8 How is Burger Fuel Worldwide going in terms of revenue created for the Franchise company as a whole and are you on track?

9: How has your experience of your company now differ from what you thought it would be when you initially planned this listed franchising model, have things changed considerably?

10: Is Australia proving difficult to crack, given the amount of competition in Sydney?

11: How has the current credit crises affected your business expansion, if at all, and is the associated economic slow down having any affect on store sales?

12: Finally, where do you see Burger Fuel being in 12 months?


I would appreciate your assistance in informing my readers. There is much google interest on our blog every time you guys have a press release and we have had a handful of Dubai hits today, just as a matter of interest.

Regards, Darren



Josef's answer to my questions

Hello Darren

To paraphrase your own comments about BurgerFuel and me – “Go Figure”.
All the best.

All I can say is it would have been nice to hear some detail about the Dubai deal and where his company might be heading and how it was doing.

My questions were really stimulated by the company and its big leap right across to the other side of the world before being properly established outside New Zealand, in their first overseas market, Australia.

I felt that his investors might like to know the finer points of this move.

As I said above, Josef was very accommodating before the Burger Fuel IPO and I was expecting the same sort of candidness as the company progressed.

I realise his curt response maybe motivated by some of my criticism but after all it is only my opinion and therefore his side of the story would at least balance things.

Nevertheless I still wish him and his company well and hope his lovely burgers(minus the bacon) take off in Dubai.



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c Share Investor 2008

The Great Global Warming Swindle[UPDATE]

Prime TV which is part of the Sky TV stable, is going to show the documentary "The Great Global Warming Swindle", the antidote to Al Gore's fictional "The Inconvenient Truth".

The major networks have been bereft of any balls, having had the best part of a year to play TGGWS but news producers have let it slip. TV One played Al Gore's ode to Michael Moore though earlier this year.

Our own Helen Clark and David Parker, Minister of hot air, should clear their schedules to watch, so they can redefine their religious zealotry towards those of us who already know it is one of history's great cons.

The Documentary, from Britain was screened last year to much acclaim.

Prime will show "The Great Global Warming Swindle" Sunday June 1 at 8.30pm.





The great global warming swindle - Part 2
The great global warming swindle - Part 3
The great global warming swindle - Part 4


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c Political Animal 2008

Sign the anti smacking referendum(UPDATE)

The "anti smacking bill", or repeal of section 59 last year has lead to a petition for a referendum.The referendum has 280,000 signatures and needs 20000 more for a referendum to be held at this years election at the end of 2008. Give Sue Bradford, Helen Clark and her mates a slap in the face!!

Footnote: As of last week this petition fell short of the 280000 signatures by 15000.
There are another 7 weeks or so for those signatures to be collected.

Download and sign the petition here

C Political Animal 2008

Labour pollaxed by public opinion

Just a commentary about polls and what they might mean.

Now Labour have been trailing National in the polls since around October/November 2007. A perfect storm of sorts hit the lefties then, when their moralistic finger pointing over the Electoral Finance Act and anti smacking law backfired and coincided to piss off even their own deluded voters.

The first big swing to National showed an almost 20 point lead over Labour with a lower polling for John Key as most preferred leader and several polls since then have showed more or less the same results, except John Key is now the most preferred Prime Minister.

There has been one poll that had pegged the National lead back to around 10 points but it is the trend in the polls that needs to be taken into account. The trend is clearly in favour of a National Government, by a country mile.

In the months since, Labour have accepted secret donations, denied their part in rising costs to families and had major parts of state run departments like Education, Health and policing limp from crises to crises.

In addition, last month the private property rights of New Zealand and foreign shareholders in Auckland International Airport were trampled on when retrospective law, which this administration is fond of passing when it suits their socialist agenda, blocked them from selling their shares.

Just yesterday, Labour sunk more than NZ$ 600 million taxpayer dollars, with billions more to come, into an inefficient,loss making railroad company because they think it will buy them votes in November.

Who said our economy was struggling?

These additions to Labour's poor track record are going to will no doubt swing polls even wider. In National's favour.

Even though Labour are going to try and buy the 2008 election, as they did during the 2005 spend-fest, and with stolen taxpayer money no less, it is looking like a right royal massacre for Labour come polling day.

Related Political Animal reading

Labour first to break own Electoral law
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c Political Animal 2008