Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s British restaurant chain which has called in administrators, reportedly putting 1300 jobs at risk, once had plans to open in New Zealand.
The company had been in trouble for at least two years, despite Oliver’s global fame on the back of his cookbooks and television shows due to competition and escalating rents.
In 2016 Oliver told Stuff that opening a restaurant in New Zealand was one of his “first priorities” and he was in the process of buying his chain from the failed Australian franchise holder.
But Restaurant Association of New Zealand chief executive Marisa Bidois said Oliver would have been competing with a “plethora” of similar concepts in New Zealand’s restaurant scene had his plans to open an eatery here been successful.
“The New Zealand dining scene is the best it’s ever been with a rise in fast casual concepts, dining precincts, food trucks as well as smart dining,” Bidois said.
In 2016 the restaurant chain’s Australian franchise holder Keystone Hospitality Group went into receivership pouring cold water on plans to open a restaurant in Wellington.
Jamie Oliver Restaurant Group (Australia) bought six restaurants from Keystone Hospitality Group in March 2017 but just over a year later his own company collapsed and was placed in voluntary administration.
After Wellington’s plans fell through it was reported in 2017 an optimistic Oliver planned on opening his first New Zealand restaurant in Auckland.
“We were going to go Wellington but I think probably, it’s sensible to go Auckland first,” Oliver told NZME in August 2017.
Last year, it shuttered 12 of its 37 sites in Britain, while five branches of the Australian arm of Jamie’s Italian were sold off and another put into administration.
He personally pumped £13 million (NZ$25m) into his Jamie’s Italian chain, but it was not enough.
Bidois said the British hospitality industry had been in “freefall” for some time, due to intense competition, combined with rent rises, higher business rates and increasing food prices.
She said the court documents for Jamie’s Italian painted a picture of under-investment, complex menus and ill-judged branch openings.
But the issues that plagued the Jamie Oliver chain, such as competition and high rents were also challenges the New Zealand restaurants faced.
Marisa Bidois, Chief Executive, Restaurant Association of New Zealand
“With such a small population and high labour costs this makes it difficult for businesses to attract and retain sufficient custom to be profitable.”
The key to a successful business was consistency, Bidois said.
“The customer knows what to expect and can guarantee the same product or service each time they go to that establishment.
“Having a name associated can be a blessing but there is a lot more to running a successful hospitality business than having a high profile or being a great chef.”