Wimpy
| Wimpy | |
|---|---|
| legal form | 100 percent subsidiary |
| founding | circa 1930 |
| Seat | Johannesburg |
| Branch | Quick service system catering |
| Website | www.famousbrands.co.za/brands/casual-dining/wimpy/ |
Wimpy is an international chain of fast food - hamburger restaurants , originally from the United States, moved the company headquarters later to the UK and now owned by the South African company Famous Brands is.
history
In the 1930s, the American Eddie Gold had the idea of establishing a fast-food chain in Chicago . It was named after the hungry cartoon character J. Wellington Wimpy from Popeye , whose favorite dish is hamburgers. After the war, gold convinced the English company Joseph Lyons & Co. of its business idea; they bought Wimpy and moved the headquarters to London . Until the 1970s, the company expanded extremely successfully with 1000 restaurants in over 20 countries, mainly in the Commonwealth , but also in other countries. In Germany, the founder of Kochlöffel Heinrich Lobenberg opened around 35 branches from the mid-1960s, but all of them were closed again.
Then a more difficult time began as the American fast food giants Mc Donald's , Burger King , Wendy's and Kentucky Fried Chicken spread to Europe, and Wimpy changed hands four times in 15 years, for example in 1977 to United Biscuits and in 1989 to then Burger King owner Grand Metropolitan (now Diageo ). In 2007 the English parent company was taken over by the South African conglomerate Famous Brands , which had previously bought Wimpy South Africa .
Internationally, the chain is represented in Angola, Botswana, Great Britain, Ireland, Namibia, South Africa and Zambia in 2017.
According to the company, there were more than 490 branches in South Africa in October 2017. In 2017 there were only 80 branches in Great Britain of the former 500. However, the chain announced expansion plans in October 2017, the details of which should be released in spring 2018. There are no global numbers.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Chain restaurants - gold on the spoon. In: Der Spiegel , 43/1964, pp. 68–70.
- ↑ Wimpy Moments. Timeline on the company page. In: wimpy.uk.com . October 22, 2017 (English).
- ^ Prospectus for Wimpy UK. (PDF) Wimpys UK franchise prospectus (page 6), October 22, 2017 (English).
- ↑ Our Story. In: wimpy.co.za . October 22, 2017 (English).
- ↑ Burger me ... Wimpy is BACK! High Street icon planning HUGE expansion. In: Daily Star , October 21, 2017 (English).