There was a real Samoan feeling to the official opening of the first Carl’s Jr restaurant in Australasia. The brand has been brought to New Zealand by Barry Forsgren, who operates the sole Carl’s Jr franchise in American Samoa, and his brother-in-law Michael Jones – better known to rugby fans as ‘The Iceman’. The ceremony, hosted by Laughing Samoan Tofiga Fepulea’I, opened with prayers and was attended by another family member, Misa Telefoni, the former deputy Prime Minister of Samoa.

Carl’s Jr was established 70 years ago in Southern California, and began its international expansion in the 2000s. Today there are 1,262 Carl’s Jr Restaurants around the world and 1,909 outlets of sister brand Hardee’s. The brand seeks to differentiate itself from the other big international chains through providing premium quality products cooked fresh to order. One of the things that marks Carl's Jr out is its commitment to ‘partial’ table service, enabling customers to order at the counter then receive their food (and place additional orders) while seated. Signature products include the Super Star, Jalapeno Burger, Portobello Mushroom Burger and Hand-Breaded Chicken Fillet sandwich. The primary target market is young adults and the marketing is designed to be edgy and irreverent with commercials featuring celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton writhing on a wet Bentley. 

Forsgren NZ Limited has been appointed as area developer for Carl’s Jr in Auckland and plans to open 25 restaurants in Auckland over the next five years, with the second to open in Glen Innes in August.  Ian Letele, Vice President Asia for Carl’s Jr, told Franchise New Zealand, ‘In addition, we are looking for more area developers to establish Carl’s Jr in Auckland North, the lower North Island and the South Island. There could be 50-75 restaurants around the country within five years, including drive-thru sites as well as in-line malls and high streets.’ However, at this stage individual restaurants will not be sub-franchised.

Ian, himself a New Zealander of Samoan heritage, is based in Singapore and is responsible for growth from China to New Zealand: ‘I spend about 75% of my time travelling,’ he says. ‘The company has gone on growing throughout the recession. Same-store sales are doing better than the industry average, while much of Asia is enjoying double digit growth. We’ve brought an all-star team to New Zealand to get the first restaurants up and running with people from the US, Singapore, Malaysia and experienced management and crew from Samoa too. That was important to get the supply chain established – the majority of our produce is local and fresh. Each new Carl’s Jr in New Zealand will employ 30-40 people and we will be taking some people to Singapore for training until we have certified training systems in place here.’

The Forsgren family has operated a Carl’s Jr franchise in American Samoa since 2007, in a country that has just two McDonald’s outlets. Michael Jones says, ‘We believe the New Zealand market is ready for alternatives to existing players in the quick-service arena and we’re confident that Carl’s Jr will become an outlet of choice for New Zealanders looking for quality food, in an up-market environment, at quick-service prices.’

UPDATE: December 2011.

Carl's Jr has closed expressions of interest from potential franchisees until further notice. It has appointed Restaurant Brands Ltd as a franchisee for areas in New Zealand other than those already contracted with Forsgren. Restaurant Brands is not currently sub-franchising, so there are no individual Carl's Jr franchises for sale in NZ.