Pie Face, the Australian fast- food outlet, has gone into administration even as its first outlet in the UAE opened in Yas Mall last week.
The Australian chain had partnered with Foodmark, part of the retail group Landmark, to expand into the Middle East with 100 shops planned over the next five years, 30 of those set for the UAE.
“In response to the recent news from Australia that The Pie Face Group has entered its companies into voluntary administration, we would like to confirm that the UAE operations of Pie Face are not affected,” said Kieran Mallon, the chief executive of Foodmark Group.
“This is a voluntary administration, which the management company have undertaken in order to streamline operations and enable the company to focus on supporting the growth of its wider franchise-operated stores in Australia as well as the wholesale business.”
Foodmark hopes to have three Pie Face outlets operating in the UAE by the middle of December including at Marina Walk in Dubai and in Abu Dhabi Mall. Pie Face has 665 outlets signed up for expansion across Japan, South Korea and the Philippines.
It was founded in Sydney in 2003 by the American banker, Wayne Homschek, and his wife, the interior designer Betty Fong, after they saw a market for a healthier version of the Aussie pie.
Its move into administration comes amid calls for restructuring and refinancing at home.
“We are premium fast food, it costs about Dh20 a pie and we are a cafe as well,” said Spiro Bellas, Pie Face’s global coffee trainer. “We are expecting a great return from the UAE, we expect it will probably be in the top three out of our international expansion.
“We reckon we will hit 250 transactions a day as the norm and a transaction can be from Dh20 when someone buys a pie to Dh250, when families spend time in the cafe. It is perfect for the UAE market as we have fantastic coffee and wonderful food.”
ascott@thenational.ae
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