Texas Chicken, one of the world’s most popular hand-battered fried chicken chains, has reported record-breaking grand opening sales for its newest location which opened in Auckland, New Zealand which opened in December.
While guests in New Zealand have been able to enjoy the savory, hand-battered chicken since June 2015, the Auckland location is the second of a planned 20-unit footprint and is the country’s first free-standing Texas Chicken restaurant to feature a drive-thru. The location recorded sales of nearly $80,000 USD in the first week, more than any other new Texas Chicken restaurant opening has recorded to date.
“Globally, Texas Chicken/Church’s Chicken is proving a favorite among an ever growing global consumer base,” said Zack Kollias, Executive Vice President International Operations at Texas Chicken. “2015 was a very positive year for the expansion of our global footprint, thanks to strong demand for our great tasting products and a new, contemporary international design package which features elements steeped in our rich Texas history.”
“We can achieve these types of record-breaking numbers due to our operational simplicity, which is based on core products made exceptionally well. These products are then served by friendly, fast crew members at a good value, in a sleek, clean and modern restaurant,” Kollias added.
Fifty percent of Texas Chicken grand openings in 2015 were in the Asia-Pacific region. The brand has plans to further expand in the region in 2016.
“We are seeing a strong appetite for the Texas Chicken concept among consumers and investors alike in the Asia-Pacific area,” said Bill Schreiber, Vice President Worldwide Business Development at Texas Chicken. “We have proven once again why chicken is the world’s most popular protein because—done right—there’s nothing better.”
Franchisee George Constantinou believes the record breaking sales are a sign of great things to come.
“Guests were ecstatic when we opened our first location in June 2015, but the response in Auckland confirms that New Zealanders are embracing our Texas Chicken concept in a big way,” said George Constantinou. “We know that we have the best chicken and are happy to share it with all of our new customers in New Zealand.”
Founded in San Antonio, TX in 1952 by George W. Church, Church’s Chicken, along with its sister brand Texas Chicken outside of the Americas, is one of the largest quick service chicken restaurant chains in the world. The brands specialize in Original and Spicy Chicken freshly prepared throughout the day in small batches that are hand-battered and double-breaded, Tender Strips, sandwiches, honey-butter biscuits made from scratch and freshly baked, and classic, home-style sides all for a great value. Church’s Chicken and Texas Chicken have more than 1,650 locations in 25 countries and global markets and system-wide sales of more than $1 billion. For more information, visit www.churchs.com. Follow Church’s on Facebook at www.facebook.com/churchschicken and Twitter at www.twitter.com/churchschicken.
