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Tonijack's replaces iconic Sarinah McDonald's
The iconic McDonald's restaurant in Sarinah Plaza, Central Jakarta, which symbolizes the entry of the global fast food chain into Indonesia and once the world's biggest burger seller, is no longer
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T
he iconic McDonald's restaurant in Sarinah Plaza, Central Jakarta, which symbolizes the entry of the global fast food chain into Indonesia and once the world's biggest burger seller, is no longer.
The restaurant, along with 12 other outlets in the country, was taken over on Thursday by a new fast food chain called ToniJack's Indonesia, owned by the businessman long associated with the McDonald's franchise, Bambang N. Rachmadi.
Bambang's new venture is the latest development in his dispute with PT Bina Nusa Rama (BNR), which manages McDonald's operations in Indonesia. Despite owning a 10 percent stake in BNR, Bambang has surrendered his McDonald's master franchise to PT Rekso National Food.
Bambang is currently suing BNR's management for transferring the franchise without his consent, and asking for $105 million in compensation.
During Tonijack's grand launch at Sarinah, Bambang said he did not need much investment capital to kick off his new business.
"I only have to pull down the McDonald's logos from my restaurant premises, and replace them with Tonijack's Indonesia," he said.
Tonijack's Indonesia, he said, now has 13 outlets across the country, with 11 located in Jakarta, one in Surabaya, East Java, and on in Bandung, West Java.
He confirmed he would also employ the same staff, who had been working for him under the McDonald's franchise.
He expects to open up between 100 and 200 new outlets of Tonijack's Indonesia in the next three to four years. He added that he was very optimistic about the new trademark. His new company, PT Tonijack's Indonesia, is likely to go public by 2014, he said.
"There are no barriers to entry in the restaurant business here. Everybody with experience in the food industry can be a player," he said, adding that after going public, he expected to open new Tonijack's Indonesia outlets overseas.
Data from the Indonesian Franchise and License Association (Wali) shows there are 800 franchise businesses in Indonesia. Forty-percent of them belong to foreign investors.
Amir Karamoy, the head of Wali, told the Post that total revenue for franchise businesses in the country totalled Rp 80 trillion (US$8 billion) in 2008, an increase from Rp 70 trillion a year earlier. (nia)
