News

Hardee’s expands into Kazakhstan

July 7, 2011

CKE Restaurants Inc., parent company of Hardee's and Carl's Jr., has announced the opening of two Hardee's restaurants in Almaty, Kazakhstan. This marks the first of at least 12 Hardee's restaurants to be opened in Kazakhstan throughout the next five years.

According to a release, Hardee's is the first major western quick-service hamburger chain to open in the market.

Americana Group S.A.K./Kuwait Food Company operates these restaurants and is the second largest licensee in the CKE system with 215 Hardee's restaurants throughout the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). CKE and the Americana Group have a 31-year relationship and plan continued growth in the Middle East and select Central and Western Asian countries.

"We have a long and successful history with the Americana Group and are confident that they will continue to use their expertise and passion for Hardee's as they expand in new and existing markets," said Andrew F. Puzder, CEO of CKE Restaurants Inc. "Kazakhstan is a market with tremendous growth potential and we wanted to take this opportunity to employ a 'first-mover' strategy in our segment. In this regard, we are happy to introduce real, American-style charbroiled burgers to the market."

The Americana Group currently operates Hardee's in Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman.

"The Americana Group has experienced great success with the Hardee's brand in the Middle East and take pride in being the first hamburger QSR brand to enter the Kazakhstan market," said Marzouk Al Kharafi, chairman and managing director of Kuwait Food Company.

Since its inception in Kuwait in 1964, Americana Group has grown to a network of more than 1,2000 outlets and has become the largest operator of restaurant chains in the MENA region. In addition to Hardee's, its portfolio includes KFC, Pizza Hut, TGI Friday's, Costa Coffee and Krispy Kreme.

CKE Restaurants has strategic development plans to double its international presence to more than 700 restaurants within the next five years. Currently international units comprise approximately 12 percent of the CKE system with plans to grow to 20 percent in the next five years. Within the past few months, the company has opened its first units in Canada and Turkey.