When two franchise experts discovered the Hello Harry brand, they knew they had to buy it and be aggressive with franchising. They started the chain on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast in 2014, with the first franchised store following the next year. The brand has since expanded across Australia.
Rob McCue says they bought the brand in February last year from the founders. “We could see they weren’t franchise people.”
Hello Harry likes to keep it simple with meats and burger patties made fresh in store and buns exclusively baked for the chain. The chain is also a big fan of shakes and craft beers.
“Unlike most of our competitors, we don’t just have cooks, we have chefs,” says McCue.
Not a fan of the cookie-cutter approach, he says he encourages his franchisees to have more of a say in how their store looks. While the same branding applies across stores, each location can have a different look and feel.
With a target of opening 11 stores in the next year, McCue says they will be halfway there by June. Expansion plans mainly focus in New South Wales but also embrace Queensland and South Australia.
Hello Harry is known for its “Fat Bastard Challenge, which involves customers eating a double Fat Bastard burger with fries. If they can do this in less than eight minutes, their meal is free and they score a free cap. All details from the challenge are recorded and updated on a leaderboard.
“Sports teams come as part of a social exercise and they just love challenging each other. It’s lots of fun,” says McCue.
Hello Harry prides itself on being easy to run, and aims to launch every store for the best possible price. “For example, if Mary is opening a store in Parramatta we will help her obtain the best possible price to build equity and profit,” says McCue.
Burger bites:
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Set up costs range from $230,000 to about $390,000 including $50,000 initial franchise fee
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Royalty: 6% of net sales
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Marketing levy: 4% of net sales
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Franchise agreement terms are in line with the lease terms
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7 stores open, 7+ opening this year