In a potential national tragedy the likes of which were previously thought unfathomable, the future of the much beloved Pie Face franchise is suddenly in serious turmoil, after the company placed itself into voluntary administration earlier today.
The late night dispenser of rat coffins – one of the first Australian fast-food chains to expand internationally – has been struggling to service the leases on three of their factories, following the consolidation of production efforts to one site in Rosehill Gardens earlier this year as a cost-cutting and efficiency measure.
The company’s founder, former Wall Street banker Wayne Homschek, has enlisted a top accounting and advisory firm to help financially restructure the company in the face of growing instability. The company was planning on floating a $150million initial public offering, and had managed to raise somewhere in the vicinity of $40million from investors over the past few years.
What this means for the future of the company remains unclear – six of the seven stores opened in New York City have closed, and locally the company has closed several stores, leaving the current number of franchises open at 72, down from the high point of over 80. But conversely, the company continues an aggressive expansion overseas, with stores in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Singapore, Japan, Korea and the Philippines due to open by next year. Though industry sources have long feared that the company was trying to do too much too quickly.
Savour each bite of delicious, delicious late night crusty goodness, kids. It might not be around forever.
via SMH.
