Famous food eateries, Pizza Hut and Burger King came under new management as Maaks International acquired MCR and MCR Pakistan.
Pizza Hut and Burger King were operated by MCR and MCR Pakistan respectively. The deal is reported to range between $10 million to $ 15 million. However, both Burger King and Pizza Hut will operate under same brand identity.
Maaks International, the new owner company of Pizza Hut and Burger King is a privately held company, based in Rawalpind/ Isalambad. It already deals in Rice, petroleum, hospitality, pharmaceuticals and FMCG sectors.
It has been reported that the former management of Pizza Hut and Burger King failed at meeting the guidelines of Yum! Brand. Which is a US based company and the parent company of Pizza Hut, KFC, Taco Bell, and the Habit Burger grill. The company manages over 53000 franchises in 155 countries.
Similarly, Burger King is owned by Restaurant Brands International (RBI) which also owns Tim Hortons, Popeye’s, and the firehouse Subs. RBI manages over 28000 outlets in over 100 countries.
Maaks International has vowed to make a comeback of the fast food eateries this month. Currently there are 84 branches of Pizza Hut and 9 branches of Burger King in the country. The new owner intends to add 25 new branches of each restaurant every year.
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Speaking with Business Recorder, Azhar Jafri, Executive Director of the newly-acquired MCR and MCR Pakistan, said that “We want to revamp operations completely. We plan to increase Pizza Hut branches to 200 and Burger King franchises to around 50 by 2027.”
He added that MCR failed to keep Pizza Hut on par with its international standard, which was the biggest reason behind Pizza Hut’s poor performance in Pakistan.
Currently, Pizza Hut and Burger King are out of commission and all their branches in Pakistan are shut down due to supply chain challenges. The former management didn’t bother about their supply chain and the ambiance which provided an edge to their opponent and both these eateries lost their ground.
While the officials remained upbeat over future prospects, there were many other business houses that looked to acquire MCR that had been up for sale for a while.
When asked about prices, Jafri said that they will try their best to compete with the top tier pizza companies in the country signalling that price point would remain high. Despite inflation, he said that high-end foods businesses have gotten a prominent place in the market.
“Go to Kolachi (restaurant) there are around 1,000 waiters to serve a high number of customers. Go to Lal Qila (buffet restaurant), which is very expensive. Pizza Hut is comparatively inexpensive compared to their food.”
Jafri said Pakistan’s restaurant market has huge potential. International food chains such as KFC, McDonald’s, and even Nandos are all making money in the country.
Meanwhile, it has been reported by a newly employed individual on the condition of anonymity that there is huge amount of arrears that are still to be settled and many of the employees are waiting for their salaries. In this regard Jaferi, admitted that some of their dues are not cleared yet.
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It’s not only salaries, but vendors and landlords who have been waiting for their dues. We will pay 100% once the audit and reconciliation are complete,”
He said that there is around 1,200 human resource personnel employed by Pizza Hut and they were screening them to see which ones they can retain.
