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Will 2023 be the year that Swedish furniture giant Ikea finally brings a store to New Zealand? Or will cult favourite burger joint Five Guys finally grace us with its loaded fries?
There is a long list of international retail brands that have confirmed they will open shops in this part of the world but are yet to make their debut.
Ikea first announced it would bring a store to New Zealand in early 2019. Fast-forward four years and there have been few updates on what it will look like or when we can expect it to begin to sell its popular flat-pack furniture.
The Nordic retailer will build its first store in Mt Wellington in Auckland. When it will open, however, still remains the biggest question.
Ikea remains tight-lipped on its plans, but has begun hiring for local staff.
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In December 2021, Ikea New Zealand signed a conditional deal to buy 3.2 hectares of land in Te Ahoterangi Rise from commercial property juggernaut Kiwi Property.
The site – equivalent in size to three rugby fields – is located across the train tracks from the existing Sylvia Park shopping centre, opposite Farmers and beside The Warehouse.
Chris McKeen/Stuff
Ikea madness has building in New Zealand for almost three years now.
The opening of Ikea is expected to create an initial 400 jobs and will not only bring its homeware to New Zealand, but its famed meatballs too, on offer in its in-house restaurant.
Kiwis have waited for years for Ikea’s arrival, and the company four years ago said it would open a pop-up store in central Auckland in the meantime while its megastore was being built.
While little work on the Sylvia Park site has begun, an Auckland pop-up next year could be a possibility.
A spokeswoman for Ikea said the team was “encouraged” by progress it had made to enter the New Zealand market.
“Over the coming months we will see our New Zealand project team grow with the announcement of successful appointments, alongside recruitment for several project roles.
“We still have many things to work through before we enter the New Zealand market. We look forward to sharing more details of our plans and timings to bring IKEA to the many New Zealanders as we continue to progress along our journey.”
Five Guys
US burger chain Five Guys, renowned for its bulky burgers, loaded fries and thick milk shakes, has already signed a franchise agreement with Seagrass Boutique Hospitality to bring the brand to New Zealand shores.
The group behind restaurants The Meat & Wine Co, Ribs & Burgers and Italian Street Kitchen, has already begun setting up Five Guys restaurants in Australia after confirming more than two years ago that it had made commitments to bring the burger joint to both New Zealand and Australia.
Five Guys should have already been up and running in New Zealand with at least one store right now, but its plans for its first Auckland location were furloughed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, lockdowns and delays in securing required building materials, and it has not yet been able to confirm a new timeline for the planned opening of local stores.
Seagrass Boutique Hospitality has been contacted for comment.
The burger chain previously said it had plans to open at least five stores here, including in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown.
The group is looking for high-street city-centre locations for the restaurants.
Five Guys has more than 1500 location worldwide.
TGI Fridays
Franchise business spokesperson Stewart Germann, owner of the Franchise Coach, has been tasked with bringing burger giant TGI Fridays to New Zealand, alongside a string of other international fast food businesses.
TGI Fridays claims to have invented the happy hour, loaded potato skins, and the Long Island Iced Tea and serves up everything from fried mozzarella sticks to burgers, ribs, chicken wings, and spinach and artichoke dip.
An icon in the food world, TGI Fridays has more than 800 restaurant locations worldwide and has its sights set on venues in Auckland and Wellington, with plans to open up to six restaurants across the country.
But what most people will be surprised to know is TGI Fridays once upon a time had a store in New Zealand – in Christchurch circa 2014.
Auckland-based The Franchise Coach has signed a franchising licence agreement with marketing and advisory firm World Franchise Associates to find a master franchisor to establish the BBQ ribs and steak house in New Zealand.
Dallas-based TGI Fridays, often referred to as Fridays, has a turnover of over US$2 billion (NZ$3.48b) in the US alone and has operations in 55 countries. The brand was founded in 1965 and has a noticeable strong presence in airport terminals throughout America.
Its launch in New Zealand is expected to creat about 400 jobs.
The Boiling Crab
Cajun-style seafood restaurant The Boiling Crab is another family restaurant chain on its way to New Zealand, with the master franchise agreement for the country soon to be signed.
The seafood chain has 23 locations, with so far just three restaurants located outside America, two in Melbourne and another in Shanghai.
The Boiling Crab opened its firsts Australian restaurants this year to raving success and expects to enter the New Zealand casual dining market with a store in Auckland by the end of next year.
Germann, who works with and represents the brand locally, said The Boiling Crab would tweak its menu slightly to better suit the New Zealand market.
It specialises in crab, shrimp and lobster meals.
The Boiling Crab has offered a 10-year license to operate a local business, with the option to extend that for another 10 years. The parent company intends to fly the local franchise owner to the United States for six weeks of training and to familiarise itself with the business that originated in the small US seaside town of Seadrift in 2004.
The are plans to open at least five The Boiling Crab restaurants within the next five years.
Retail and property consultant Chris Wilkinson, managing director of First Retail Group, said there were a handful of UK and Australian brands that had been looking at entering the market this year.
He was unable to disclose exactly who, but said with open borders and international visitors permitted to enter again, 2023 would likely be another big year of new retailer market debuts.
“With the borders freed up we’ve had business development people here meeting leasing agents, checking out city centres, retail parks and malls and getting an understanding for how New Zealand is tracking as we emerge from the challenges of Covid,” Wilkinson said.
“Many of the prospective brands have some idea of demand and where that’s coming from geographically through their online sales into NZ. With changes to import duty thresholds for online shopping, that has slowed demand from consumers here, so a physical presence is seen to help some develop on the success they have seen earlier.”
New entertainment concepts and venues would be a big focus for shopping and city centres next year as this was a category experiencing massive growth overseas, Wilkinson said.
Earl of Sandwich
Earl of Sandwich specialises in long, hot sandwiches, salads, wraps and pizza breads and is a chain that could rival the likes of Subway.
The restaurant chain was said to be founded by a direct descendant of the fourth Earl of Sandwich, John Montagu, who is credited with inventing the sandwich in 1762.
Legend has it that British aristocrat and politician John Montagu, invented the sandwich almost by accident as a way to continue to be able to play cards and eat at the same time, however this has never been verified.
MONIQUE FORD / STUFF
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In 2004, Orlando Montagu, the youngest son of the 11th Earl of Sandwhich, and Robert Earl, the founder and chief executive of Planet Hollywood, started the business in Florida.
The Franchise Coach has been tasked with granting a licence to bring Earl of Sandwich restaurants to New Zealand next year, as part of its franchising licence agreement with World Franchise Associates.
Earl of Sandwich is yet to been established in Australia, and its expected launch of in New Zealand will mark its debut in this part of the world. No further information has been provided.
The sandwich business operates more than 50 stores, most in the United States, with others in Canada, France, the Philippines and South Korea.
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