CARPINTERIA, Calif. — CKE Restaurants Inc. has announced the sale of 11 Hardee's restaurants in the Jefferson City and Columbia, Mo., markets to Rising Stars LLC, which marks the successful completion of the company's strategic refranchising program, originally announced in April 2007.
Under the refranchising program, CKE Restaurants sold a total of 238 Hardee's units to franchisees and secured commitments for 115 new franchise restaurants under development agreements for those markets. The company sold 38 units, or 19 percent, more than it originally announced. The company owns 477 Hardee's restaurants out of a total of 1,913, and 415 Carl's Jr. restaurants out of a total of 1,194.
The transaction is the latest step in the company's program to increase overall unit growth, particularly franchise unit growth. For fiscal 2009 to date, the company has entered into a total of 20 franchise development agreements representing commitments for 380 restaurants — 236 domestic units and 144 international units — including agreements to enter China, Pakistan and Kazakhstan.
Over the next five years, the company anticipates it will add more than 800 new restaurants to its global store base. In the process, franchised restaurants should increase from 71 percent of the system to approximately 75 percent and international restaurants should increase from 10 percent to 19 percent of the system.
