42 | Business World Magazine |
February 2014
president of global development, Hooters
entered 2014 with 225 franchised restau-
rants and 189 company operated sites. All
of the company operated restaurants are in
the United States, while 69 of the franchised
stores are outside of the U.S. "We are big be-
lievers in the franchise model," says Whittle,
"and we expect that more than 90 percent of
our unit growth will be driven by franchi-
sees.”
A QUESTION OF SYSTEM
LEADERSHIP
Whittle says the lean toward more franchis-
es doesn't mean Hooters of America sees no
role for company operated restaurants. To
the contrary, Whittle says being an operator
enhances HOA's credibility as a franchisor.
"We have great respect for our franchisees
and their capital,” he says. “Therefore, we be-
lieve it is our responsibility as the franchisor
to put our capital at risk to prove a model
before asking our franchisees to invest. This
approach ensures alignment of economic
interest which we see as a pre-requisite for
effective system leadership." According to
Whittle, Hooters took this approach with
the launch of its successful remodel program
in 2013.
“We feel very bullish about the business
and are very pleased with the consumer re-
sponse to the 19 HOA stores we remodeled
in 2013," Whittle says. "We expect to remod-
el more than 25 company operated stores
