Hooters South Africa

Hooters South Africawww.hooterssouthafrica.com

02HooterYour Local Nexterior shot of hooters at emperor’s palace casino in johannesburg

s South Africaeighbourhood RestaurantFOOD & BEVERAGE

4 Food & Beverage Hooters South AfricaIf you’re looking for the perfect spot to catcha game with the guys, start a ladies nighton the town, or enjoy a family brunch ona lazy Sunday afternoon, Hooters in SouthAfrica has established itself as the ideal venueto cater to your dining and entertainmentneeds, with a unique All-American twist.If you’ve never been to a Hooters restaurant,let me paint you a picture.You walk in to a casual All-American sportsbar are and are greeted by the warm buzz ofchattering patrons and over 20 plasma TVscreens showing you a glimpse of the latestsporting matches. You look around and noticemetal road signs and photos of celebrities andlocal sports heroes peppered across the woodpaneledwalls.You’re greeted and seated by beautiful HootersGirls in hot shorts and white running shoes, grinningand ready to take your orders.And the food, oh the food. Saucy, fall-off-thebonewings, juicy steaks, crunchy curly fries andpints of crisp, cold beer. It’s enough to make youwant to go back for more the next day!Easily one of the most famous casual diningrestaurants in North America, Hooters and itsdistinctive branding has proven to be a successfulmodel outside its borders as well and has beenfinding resounding popularity across South Africasince 2009.“A lot of younger South Africans were familiarwith the brand already through American reality TVand movies,” says Gordon Jestin, chief operatingofficer of Hooters South Africa. “It’s a unique brandand it definitely works.”

DECEMBER/JANUARY 2013 The American Business Journal5a snapshot of the friendly staff you’re bound to find at any hooters sa restaurantLess than three years later, the franchisehas expanded to four restaurants across SouthAfrica and is poised for extensive growth overthe next decade.South African HospitalityThe story of how Hooters came to the Africancontinent begins when Mike Pruitt, the chiefexecutive officer of Chanticleer Holdings (the parentcompany of Hooters South Africa) was visitingthe Rainbow Nation. After seeing what a compellingmarket and people it had, he acquired the exclusivefranchising rights, sought a local partner and begandeveloping from there.The first Hooters South Africa was opened intourist-friendly Umhlanga, Durban in December

DECEMBER/JANUARY 2013 The American Business Journal7Gordon Jestin, Chief operating officer

8 Food & Beverage Hooters South AfricaProud to supply toHooters South AfricaBIGGEST SA TRADING is a family owned and managed alcohol, wine and softdrink wholesaler Distribution Company. We have been trading successfully for 12years. We are contracted distributors for the major liquor , spirit and soft drinkcompanies in South Africa.We focus our supply of liquor, wines and soft drinks predominantly on the onpremise market, this comprises of restaurants, bars, pub, clubs, hotels etc.Contact us at info@bsatrade.co.za | www.bsatrade.co.za2009 after Jestin and his business partner renovatedand re-branded their existing establishmentinto a world-famous Hooters.“When we opened , it was a predominantlymale place to watch sports and we had to goon a marketing campaign to get women andchildren and show it’s a family-friendly restaurant;a neighbourhood restaurant,” explainsJestin. “Luckily we had been in business therefor 15 years, which made networking throughthe community far easier.”Things grew organically from there. South Africantourists visiting Durban got a taste of Hootersand by the time the company opened up its secondstore in the business hub of Johannesburg in2010 (just in time for the World Cup) many peoplewere already familiar with the brand.“The beauty about people in South Africais they’re absolute sports fanatics,” says Jestin.“One thing about the Hooters restaurants here,you’ll never find a better sports viewing restaurantin South Africa. Funnily enough, there was a gapin the market for that.”Due to the positive reception of the All-Americandining experience, Hooters opened up itsthird restaurant in Cape Town in 2011, its fourth

10 Food & Beverage Hooters South AfricaThe perfect, Barista-quality cupof coffee - right down to your bottom line.Contact Call Centre: 0800 001 648 | www.nestleprofessional.co.zathe Hooters girls also act as brand ambassadorsat golf tournaments, charity events and participatein many altruistic activities.The only difference you’ll find in Hooters Southexterior shot south africa’s third hooters restaurant inAfrica lies in the menu. “South Africa is a meateating nation, so we requested to put out a fewextra steak dishes since Africans love their redmeat,” chuckles Jestin.Looking to the FutureBased on the South African success thus far,Chanticleer Holdings and Hooters South Africaalready have plans to unveil two more storesin 2013, with new establishments opening inPretoria and possibly Bloemfontein.“Our plans are to open one to two per year,”says Jestin. “Operationally these restaurantsrequire a lot of focus and it’s not something youcan rush. But by 2022, we’d like to be sitting with15 more stores.”

DECEMBER/JANUARY 2013 The American Business Journal11Proud to supply Hooters South AfricaCorporate/Promotional Clothing/Merchandiseand Gifts, Safety WearBEE LEVEL 1 STATUST +27 82 921 9053 | +27 83 786 3253glynn@impilocorp.co.za / ahmed@impilocorp.co.zaHowever South Africa’s market has so much opportunityto explore that the organisation is happy tokeep its focus there for now.cape townHooters South Africa has also recently appointedDarren Smith as its new chief financial officerensuring all financial aspects of the business are inplace as the company grows.As for expansion into the rest of the continent,Chanticleer says that is always a possibility with itscurrent strategy of expanding in emerging markets.“In the old days, the proprietor was alwaysthe face of the business, now it’s the HootersGirls,” says Jestin, “and that’s very, very uniquein South Africa.” ABwww.hooterssouthafrica.com