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Melbourne-born quick service retail food chain Sushi Sushi is looking to expand its fledgling operations across the Tasman after securing a master franchise agreement with Stanley Greene, leveraging his 30-year career spent growing the Subway business in New Zealand.
Greene will take over the existing Sushi Sushi Botany store in Auckland with plans to grow the business in New Zealand from this single store to 35 outlets across the country over the next decade.
Sushi Sushi currently has more than 170 outlets in Australia, with the largest concentration found in its hometown of Melbourne.
The business expanded in NSW and ACT earlier this year through the acquisition of Sushi Musa which had nine stores in key suburban growth corridors located in Sydney, Newcastle and Canberra.
“We’re incredibly excited to bring Stanley on as our master franchisee for New Zealand,” says Stephen Anders, CEO of Sushi Sushi.
“Stanley has decades of proven business growth success, and his vision aligns seamlessly with our commitment to innovation.
“His dedication to operational excellence and customer experience makes him the perfect partner to lead Sushi Sushi’s expansion in New Zealand.
“We are looking forward to seeing his values and leadership experience drive our brand’s growth and success in this market.”
Greene spent 30 years in franchising and business development for Subway in New Zealand which he says positions him perfectly to lead the push to make Sushi Sushi a “household name” in the country.
“The focus on innovation, premium ingredients, franchising and customers are values I echo,” says Greene.
“I look forward to further introducing New Zealand locals to the brand that has set the standards for sushi in Australia.
“Our team at the Sushi Sushi Botany store have given me an amazing welcome and I can’t wait to expand our network of stores across both North and South islands over the coming years.”
Sushi Sushi was founded in 1998 with a single store at Box Hill in Melbourne and the brand is credited as being a pioneer of Japanese cuisine in Australia.
Odyssey Private Equity acquired a majority stake in the company in 2019 for an estimated $60 million.
Greene plans to utilise Sushi Sushi’s existing business model to grow the brand in New Zealand, leaning on the group’s 26 years of experience in franchising and store design.
“I’m currently looking for franchisee partners that display a deep understanding of their local market along with a proven track record in the restaurant or retail industry,” he says.
“Sushi Sushi offers premium branding, high quality product offerings, eye-catching marketing, a very strong operational system and four flexible footprint store design options (micro, food court, stand alone and train).
“These formats have provided great success in Australia, delivering highly flexible solutions for franchisees to operate anything from 12sqm locations upwards.
“It will also enable our team to match the store format to our franchise partners based on their experience and budget and match store format to opportunities in the market.”
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