Hamiltonians Help Wendy’s Set New World Record - Again

Media release

Tuesday 23 July 2013

Hamiltonians Help Wendy’s Set New World Record - Again

Hamilton burger lovers have helped Wendy’s set a new world record with the company’s new Frankton store achieving record sales.

Giving Hamiltonians their very first taste of Wendy’s, the new restaurant - which opened less than a fortnight ago on Thursday 11 July - did the most sales in its first week of any Wendy’s anywhere in the world.

Wendy’s CEO Danielle Lendich said the store served more than 10,000 customers in its first week and broke the hourly sales record by $300, the daily record by $6,000 and the weekly record by $12,000 – up 6.7 percent on the previous titleholder. All were achieved within standard trading hours.

Busy staff made more than 20,000 burgers, and menu items unique to Wendy’s like its baked potatoes and chili were also top sellers says Lendich. Customers ate their way through more than 200kg of potatoes and 150kg of chili, with extra sacks of potatoes driven in on opening day to keep up with demand.

World records are not a new phenomenon for New Zealand with Wendy’s Palmerston North setting a new record for first week sales when it opened in December last year. Prior to that the short-lived Christchurch outlet held the title, open only three months before the 2011 earthquake, and before that it was Gate Pa in Tauranga.

Before New Zealand’s reign as record holder, Wendy’s stores in the Bahamas had performed the best.

When asked why Wendy’s has proven so popular in New Zealand, Lendich says there has always been huge demand in new areas. “People love the freshness and quality of our prime New Zealand beef and other ingredients. We’ve always been seen as the quality hamburger in the market and have held the best tasting hamburger spot in Auckland for a number of years.”

The success of the Frankton restaurant is down to Hamiltonians in large part, says Lendich. “Aside from the great team of people we have on board, the people of the Waikato obviously love Wendy’s and are familiar with our brand and menu. They know what they want and have fewer questions, so we’ve been able to serve them faster.

“They’ve also been very patient and cooperative despite queues in store and in Drive Thru, meaning we’ve been able to organise the initial ‘chaos’ well without impacting the roading system.”

Head of U.S. parent Wendy’s Company CEO Emil Brolick weighed in with a special message congratulating the Frankton restaurant team. “These are phenomenal sales figures and they speak to the potential of the Wendy’s brand. Great food and great service have universal appeal around the world. Thank you for the motivating results.”

The company has big expectations for its new Hornby store in Christchurch when it opens in early November, but Lendich is unsure whether the store can break Hamilton’s new records.

Frankton is Wendy’s first restaurant in Hamilton, costing Wendy’s more than $2 million and creating a total of 40 new jobs for locals.

A second is under construction and scheduled to open in Te Rapa in late November, with new restaurants in Whangarei and Christchurch bringing the total to 22 by the end of the year.

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