Page 24 - February 2022

Adelaide, South Australia
Bringing Communities

Together

A privately held company based in Franklin, Tennessee in the
US, CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc. owns, operates and
franchises Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, two beloved regional brands that
are known for their one-of-a-kind premium innovative menu items.

Here, RLI sits down with Michael Woida, President, International at CKE Restaurants
Holdings to learn more about the history of the business and what the future holds.

he two brands, Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s came together in 1997
with Hardee’s acquisition by CKE Restaurants, Inc. in a move
Tthat leverages both companies’ heritage and their regional
dominance. Today they continue to operate under one corporate entity
under their individual banners and between them they have close to
4,000 franchised or company-operated restaurants in 44 US states and
40 international countries.
“Being the brand owner of two somewhat similar brands, we’ve
strategically designed our expansion efforts for Hardee’s to operate and
grow in the Middle East and Africa (MEA), primarily due to our strong,
40-year presence in the region,” Michael Woida, President, International
at CKE Restaurants Holdings says. “Carl’s Jr. restaurants will continue
to grow exclusively in markets outside of MEA. We finished 2021 with
about 1,020 restaurants operating outside of the US, and we intend to
double that number over the next five years.”
Given that the last two years have been some of the most difficult
in the history of the hospitality sector, the company has not had to
fundamentally alter its key objectives and growth efforts. They have have had the resources and sounding boards to talk through and help solve
reassessed how to optimise their guests’ access to their great food and the myriad of unique problems that have arisen because of the pandemic.
have accelerated and inaugurated many initiatives that were either already The global portfolio of CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc. encompasses
in motion or under design. a wide-ranging mix of building typologies that can accommodate almost
When discussing how the business has been steered through Covid-19, any venue. These sites range from 700sq m freestanding buildings that
Woida cannot stress enough how crucial the right international franchise incorporate multi-lane drive-thrus, to 45sq m Carl’s Jr. Express concepts
support leaders and teams have been throughout. He goes on to say it that operate in dense, urban areas.
is these people that are the backbone and have ensured their franchisees

24 RETAIL & LEISURE INTERNATIONAL FEBRUARY 2022