AUSTRALIA | QSR chain Taco Bell has a clearer view of its future in the Australian market, with 20 stores sold to major fast food operator Restaurant Brands Australia.
This move followed an announcement made by Collins Foods in April last year, where it outlined its intention to sell or close its 27 Taco Bell stores within 12 months.
Six stores in Queensland and one in Victoria will be closed. All staff currently working at the restaurants will be offered employment with the new owners.
Collins Foods currently operates 280 of the 800 KFC stores in Australia, and expects to lose between AUD 1 million and AUD 2 million for the one-off cost of closing seven stores.
The Taco Bell chain has had difficulty navigating its place in the market for a number of years now, especially with vigorous competition from other Mexican QSR chains like Guzman y Gomez and Zambrero.
Xavier Simonet, Chief Executive of Collins Foods, said in a statement that securing a future for most of the restaurants while protecting jobs was something the company was pleased with.
“We are especially pleased that our team members working in the 20 transitioning Taco Bell restaurants will be offered continuity of employment and job security,” he said.
He added that the sale of the restaurants would allow Collins Foods to focus more on expanding its KFC restaurant portfolio, and that there were plans for the company to open “dozens” of new restaurants over the span of the next five years.
David Mantellini, General Manager of Taco Bell Australia, said the company strongly believed in the market, and it was excited about entering the future with a clear focus on growing the brand and expanding the portfolio of restaurants across Australia.
Collins Foods will continue to operate the 20 stores until the deal is finalised.
Despite an attempt to bring the brand to Australia in the 1980s, Taco Bell entered the Australian Market in 2017.
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