DALLAS, Aug. 23, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Wingstop
Restaurants Inc. (NASDAQ: WING), the award-winning wing concept
with more than 1,000 locations worldwide, today announced that it
is extending its global reach by expanding into Australia and New
Zealand. The Company entered into a franchise agreement with
a newly created entity under John Bridgeman Limited. Over the next
10 years, 110 restaurants will open across Australia and New
Zealand with the first Wingstop set to open in Brisbane during the first half of 2018.
Leading the efforts on behalf of John Bridgeman Limited is
managing director Stuart McAuliffe
who specializes in identifying investment opportunities and
providing extensive financial and management support. John
Bridgeman Limited is also a master franchisee of American
restaurant brand, Johnny Rockets.
"This is a very exciting project for our food and beverage
team," said Stuart McAuliffe
managing director of John Bridgeman.
"The chicken category is underserved in Australia, and our research indicates that
Wingstop's proven success can be replicated in Australia and New
Zealand. We have invested in due diligence and planning over
the last year to maximize this opportunity. The team brings food
and beverage management combined with real estate skills and
financial management, which places us in a strong position to
rapidly expand the Wingstop brand."
"Our expansion into Australia
and New Zealand is an exciting
step as we grow our brand internationally and continue on our
mission to serve the world flavor," said Larry Kruguer, president of international at
Wingstop. "Stuart and his team have been very successful and have
begun focusing attention in the local food and beverage sector by
introducing great American fast casual brands like ours.
Australia is a major consumer of
chicken, and our uniquely flavored wings provide a differentiated
offering in the market."
Openings in Australia and
New Zealand will mark the eleventh
and twelfth international markets outside of the United States; and the sixth and seventh
new markets announced over the past 12 months. The Company recently
opened the first Wingstop locations in Malaysia and Saudi
Arabia.
About Wingstop
Founded in 1994 and headquartered in Dallas,
Texas, Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) operates and
franchises more than 1,000 locations across the United
States, Mexico, Singapore, the
Philippines, Indonesia, the United Arab
Emirates, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. The Wing
Experts' menu features classic and boneless wings with 11 bold,
distinctive flavors including Original Hot, Cajun, Atomic, Mild,
Teriyaki, Lemon Pepper, Hawaiian, Garlic Parmesan, Hickory Smoked
BBQ, Louisiana Rub, and Mango Habanero. Wingstop's wings are always
cooked to order, hand-sauced and tossed and served with a variety
of house-made sides including fresh-cut, seasoned fries. Having
grown its domestic same store sales for 13 consecutive years, the
Company has been ranked #3 on the "Top 100 Fastest Growing
Restaurant Chains" by Nation's Restaurant News (2016), #7
on the "Top 40 Fast Casual Chains" by Restaurant Business (2016),
and was named "Best Franchise Deal in North America" by QSR
magazine (2014). Wingstop was ranked #88 on
Fortune's 100 Best Medium Workplaces list in October 2016.
Follow us on facebook.com/Wingstop and Twitter @Wingstop.
Certain statements contained in this news release, as well as
other information provided from time to time by Wingstop Inc. or
its employees, may contain forward looking statements that involve
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those in the forward looking statements. You can
identify forward-looking statements by the fact that they do not
relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements
may include words such as "guidance," "anticipate," "estimate,"
"expect," "forecast," "project," "plan," "intend," "believe,"
"confident," "may," "should," "can have," "likely," "future" and
other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any
discussion of the timing or nature of future operating or financial
performance or other events.
Any such forward looking statements are not guarantees of
performance or results, and involve risks, uncertainties (some of
which are beyond the Company's control) and assumptions. Although
we believe any forward-looking statements are based on reasonable
assumptions, you should be aware that many factors could affect our
actual financial results and cause them to differ materially from
those anticipated in any forward-looking statements. Please refer
to the risk factors discussed in our Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2016, which can be found
at the SEC's website www.sec.gov. The discussion of these risks is
specifically incorporated by reference into this news release.
Any forward-looking statement made by Wingstop Inc. in this
press release speaks only as of the date on which it is made. We
undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement,
whether as a result of new information, future developments or
otherwise, except as may be required by law.
Media Contact
Brian Bell
972-707-3956
bbell@wingstop.com
Investor Contact
Raphael Gross
203-682-8253
raphael.gross@icrinc.com
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SOURCE Wingstop Restaurants Inc.