Wendys says it’s committed to its franchisees as Victorian stores advertised for as little as $59,000

A number of Wendys Victorian franchisees have been listed for sale on online marketplaces over recent weeks, just days after Singapore-based Global Yellow Pages subsidiary Global Food Retail Group agreed to purchase the franchise network.

The stores listed on Seek Commercial include Lilydale Marketplace, Horsham, Dandenong, Geelong Market Square, South Morang, Rowville and Wheelers Hill.

SmartCompany understands one of the stores is on the market because the franchisee is becoming the state regional manager for Victoria and Tasmania, while another is leaving the company because of health reasons.

The Lilydale store is listed with an asking price of just $59,000, while the Dandenong store is listed with an asking price of $70,000.

The Wheelers Hill store is listed as having takings of $4500 per week with “low rent”, averaging out to just $80.35 per hour over a 56 hour trading week.

Meanwhile, the advertisement for the store at the Stud Park Shopping Centre in Rowville, south-east from Melbourne, lists a number of expenses that come out of a franchisee’s sales.

“A royalty of 6% and an advertising levy of 4% are paid out of sales, for which you will receive cutting edge marketing support in the form of menus, TV advertising and promotional support material,” the listing states.

“Wendys provides comprehensive training in a training store for three weeks and in a classroom for a week in Adelaide. The cost to the buyer for this is $10,000 plus any legal costs (usually around $2000).”

“There is a long term lease in place which is transferrable to the new owner. Note: renovation to the store is due soon (approximately $50,000) which can be added to the final purchase price, or dealt with separately.”

A 6% royalty from $4500 is $270, with an additional $180 for marketing support, with the expenses coming before other costs such as rent, training, staff, and renovations.

Along with the stores up for sale, SmartCompany understands the franchisee of an additional store at the Forest Hill Chase Shopping Centre decided not to renew the franchise after finishing up their lease.

Overall, the company owns over 200 stores in Australia and a further 30 in New Zealand, with around 48 of those stores located in Victoria.

Alongside the Victorian stores, a number of interstate stores are also listed as being for sale, including South Headland, Tuggerah, Mandurah, Busselton, and Sefton Park.

When asked about the large number of stores up for sale, Wendys chief executive officer Rob McKay told SmartCompany the company was committed to its franchisees.

“Wendys is committed to working closely with each one of our franchisees across Australia and New Zealand to help them reach their full potential, and continue to focus our efforts on delivering cost efficiencies wherever we can for our franchisees,” McKay says.

The listings come after Wendys announced last month it was cutting the size of its stores to between 10-12 square metres in size, compared to a traditional Wendys format store, which is around 24 square metres.

“We want to get sustainable economics into the shopping centre environment. One of the concepts we refer to is affordable traffic,” McKay said at the time.

Late last week, the company announced a takeover deal with Singapore-based Global Food Retail Group, a subsidiary of Global Yellow Pages, with the new owners announcing plans to expand its network of stores into Asia.