Wendy’s International, Inc., a subsidiary of Wendy’s/Arby’s Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEN), today announced the signing of a long-term agreement with Wenphil Corporation to significantly expand Wendy’s brand presence in the Philippines.
The new agreement with Wenphil, a Wendy’s franchisee since 1983, calls for the development of 44 additional restaurants, which would increase the total number of Wendy’s locations in the country to 75. As part of the agreement, Wenphil will expand outside of Metro Manila into other cities and regions in the Philippines through the use of sub-franchising.
Elizabeth Pardo-Orbeta, chairman of Wenphil Corporation, says she's, "delighted to renew [her] franchise relationship with Wendy’s." PArdo-Orbeta continue: "We’re excited about the opportunity to further expand our business in the Philippine market through innovative use of sub-franchising. While continuing to serve our customers in the Metro Manila area, we look forward to bringing Wendy’s fresh, high-quality food to other potential growth areas throughout the Philippines.”
Darrell van Ligten, President of Wendy’s/Arby’s International, sees the deal as great growth potential for Wendy’s. "This is another example of our aggressive focus on ramping up restaurant development outside of North America," he says. "Since June 2009, Wendy’s/Arby’s Group subsidiaries have signed new development agreements for portions of the Middle East and North Africa, Singapore, Turkey, Russia, the Eastern Caribbean and, mostly recently, Argentina. Our international presence would grow to almost 1,000 restaurants if all store commitments currently on the books were to be fulfilled. That number of commitments will increase as we layer on development deals for new markets currently under negotiation and expand agreements with existing franchisees.
