KPMG Australia has been appointed as voluntary administrator.
An Australian franchisee running 24 Carl’s Jr. restaurants, the American fast-food chain, has been placed into voluntary administration, causing multiple burger restaurant closures.
Big Four accounting firm KPMG has stepped in as the voluntary administrator for CJ’s QSR Group (CJQSR), which operates Carl’s Jr. locations in Australia.
As a result, 20 Carl’s Jr. stores have closed immediately, while another four impacted by the voluntary administration are still open at this stage.
A further 25 restaurants that are independently owned and operated by third-party licensees will continue to operate with little to no impact, a spokesperson for KPMG told the Epoch Times.
Despite the challenges in Australia, Carl’s Jr.’s parent company, CKE, has said it affirmed its commitment to its international growth plan.
CJQSR is headquartered in Docklands, Melbourne, and has about 1,000 employees across Australia.
KPMG Administrators Take Control
Voluntary KPMG administrators—David Hardy, George Georges, and Emily Seeckts—are now assuming day to day control of CJQSR and conducting an urgent assessment of the business and its operations.
“Based on the initial stages of this assessment, the Voluntary Administrators will continue to trade for the owned and operated CJ’s Group restaurants on a business-as-usual basis,” KPMG said in a statement.
“Global operations including restaurants owned and operated by licensees other than CJ Group continue to operate business as usual.”
David Hardy, a restructuring services partner at KPMG Australia, said the initial focus will be on stabilising the operations of CJ’s Group.
“We will be conducting an immediate sale process of the existing store network and operations,” he said.
“We will be working with all stakeholders, including employees, suppliers, and landlords, to maximise the outcome for all parties.”
The administrators will soon reach out to suppliers, customers, landlords, and other key stakeholders, with a meeting of creditors scheduled for Aug. 7.
Carl’s Jr. restaurants in Australia are known for using 100 percent Australian Angus beef and 100 percent Australian hand-breaded chicken tenders.
“We only use the freshest local produce and highest quality ingredients, guaranteeing the delicious flavours and mouth-watering textures we’re famous for,” the company states on its website.
25 Restaurants Unaffected by Administration
CKE, the American parent company of Carl’s Jr., is transitioning the 25 sublicensed restaurants to a direct licensed relationship and predicts little to no change in these locations.
These 25 restaurants, unaffected by the voluntary administration, include two in Victoria, five in New South Wales, seven in South Australia, and 12 in Queensland.
“Each of those 25 sublicensed restaurants remain open.”
CKE has emphasised its commitment to the Australian market.
“CKE is committed to the people and the brand in the Australian market, and we have an exceptional community of independent licensees operating our restaurants across the country,” a spokesperson for CKE said.
Carl’s Jr. first tried to enter the Australian market in the 1980s but exited due to intense competition. However, in the mid-2010s, the brand made a significant effort to re-establish itself in Australia with a restaurant opening in Bateau Bay, New South Wales, in 2016.
Following this, the company expanded across Australia to multiple states including Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, and Western Australia.
In this competitive landscape, Carl’s Jr. faces strong rivalry from established fast-food chains such as McDonald’s, which has been part of the community for more than 50 years with more than 1,020 restaurants and over 200 licensees, and Hungry Jack’s, the Australian fast food franchise of the Burger King Corporation, with more than 440 restaurants across the country and more than 50 years of history.
Other chains include KFC, Domino’s, Pizza Hut, Nando’s, Red Rooster, and Guzman y Gomez.