Georgie Pie helps lift sales at McDonald's

 

McDonald's Restaurants (New Zealand), the local arm of the world's largest fast food chain, had a 5.8 percent gain in sales in 2013, the year it relaunched the Georgie Pie brand after a decade-long hiatus.

Sales were $216.6 million in calendar 2013, up from $204.7 million a year earlier, according to the local unit's annual report. Profit for the year barely budged at $30.7 million as the company opened new stores, spent more on raw materials and wages, and paid more tax.

 McDonald's has 163 restaurants in New Zealand, of which about 80 percent are owned and operated by franchisees. As well as sales from its own outlets, the company garners monthly service and franchise fees, a contribution to advertising and rental payments, all based on a percentage of gross sales, from franchisees. "McDonald's and our 53 New Zealand franchisees largely enjoyed a positive 2013, buoyed by the launch and roll out of Georgie Pie,' Patrick Wilson, McDonald's New Zealand managing director, told BusinessDesk.

McDonald's bought the Georgie Pie chain from Progressive Enterprises in 1996 before closing it in 1999. In the relaunch it is rolling out sales of pies in its existing restaurants. The parent company today posted a 5.5 percent decline in net profit to US$1.2 billion in the three months ended March 31 as sales climbed 0.5 percent to US$6.7 million. Its NYSE-listed shares last traded at US$99.32, valuing the company at US$98 billion, and have gained 83 percent in the past five years, lagging behind the Standard & Poor's 500 Index's 123 percent increase.

The first McDonald's restaurant in New Zealand was opened in Porirua in 1976. Currently more than 9,000 people work for McDonald's in New Zealand and the business spent $170 million with local suppliers. Worldwide, McDonald's restaurants bought $465 million of food products from New Zealand producers in 2013, the company said.

The restaurants buy their supplies from the local arm of US distribution firm Martin Brower, which has been supplying the chain for 50 years. For McDonald's NZ itself, the cost of raw materials and consumables rose to $43.5 million in 2013, from $40.3 million a year earlier. Wage costs rose to $46.6 million from $42.4 million. According to its website, would-be franchisees need to have about $650,000 of cash to invest and must commit to a full-time, unpaid training programme of up to 12 months as part of a registration process.

The minimum equity investment in a new restaurant is 40 percent of the "total equipment/décor package". In addition, McDonald's requires an upfront franchise fee of $75,000 with a $25,000 security deposit. The approximate cost of kitchen equipment, signage, seating, décor, air conditioning and landscaping, paid to suppliers is about $1.5 million. The franchise term is 20 years.

From Nz Herald - BusinessDesk

McDonald’s Getting Georgie Pie Fans Excited, with Possible Comeback

McDonald’s seems to have got the Georgie Pie fanboy/fangirl drooling at the mouth, with the news that they are looking at how they may use the brand in the future. They were intrigued at the the level of passion that people still had for the old franchise which finally closed in 2006.

And if your wondering if there is a lot of people out there that want Georgie Pie back, well check out the Facebook Group for Georgie Pie. and check out the amount of comments people leave about Georgie Pie.

Will Georgie Pie really come back? Is McDonald’s just after more money?

Any comments people...?

GEORGIE PIE Videos

Mince Pie recipe

Ingredients :
1 Sheet Ready Rolled Flaky Pastry
1 Carrot, thinly sliced
1 tbsp Rosemary, finely chopped
600g Prime Beef Mince
250ml Beef Stock
1/2 c Frozen Peas
Zest of 1 Lemon
1 Beaten Egg for brushing
1/4 c Frozen Corn Kernels
Salt to taste
Black Pepper, ground to taste
1 tsp Flour
1 tbsp Tomato Paste
3 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Onion, chopped

How to Prepare :
Preheat the oven to 200°C
Cut the pastry sheet into 4 equal squares and brush the top of each with beaten egg.
Put the squares on a tray, place in the oven and bake.
Remove from the oven and cool.
Heat the oil over moderate heat in a deep frying pan and add the onion, carrot, zest, garlic and rosemary.
Fry gently, without browning, until the onion is soft.
Add the mince, turn up the heat and fry, breaking up the lumps, until the mince is browned.
Mix in the flour and tomato paste then add the beef stock.
Simmer 10 minutes then add the peas and corn.
Simmer another 4 minutes, season to taste with salt and pepper and reheat the pastry squares in the oven.
Slice the pastry squares in half horizontally and serve the mince in between the pastry halves.

Oh..Pieeeeee….. Yummmmmm !

Bring Back Georgie Pies ! - Petition

We want to bring back Georgie Pie because it was yummy, cheap and a Kiwi Icon.
But McDonalds saw it as a threat so they bought every store.
So sign to bring back!!

Note: Please sign in the comments field below.

Georgie Pie - Yummmm...mince n' cheese pies !

Georgie Pie - New Zealand’s own answer to McDonalds, featuring meat pies instead of burgers - began life in the 70s. But in the early 1990s, a ‘perfect storm’ of events significantly boosted the fortunes of the company, triggering a rapid over-expansion of franchises which, like all great empires, eventually caused the company to implode.

And even though Georgie Pie is also the single biggest contributing factor to an alarming rise in teenage bowel cancer during the same period1, Kiwis, particularly late 20s and thirty somethings, still get all misty eyed at it’s memory, and fall over themselves in support of any campaign to bring it back. So why is this?

The answer lies in the events leading up to Georgie Pie’s spectacular rise and fall.

The first of these, was when, sometime in early 1992, Georgie Pie Greenlane, Auckland (then the biggest restaurant in a relatively small chain) became the first fast food restaurant in New Zealand to open it’s doors 24 hours a day. This was followed by the second great event…The Dollar Menu.

The concept was simple enough - price every item on the menu at either $1, $2, $3 or $4 - but it was fundamentally flawed. In order to combat the upward price pressure of economic inflation, the restaurant cut costs on their product lines, removing from their meat pies such unnecessarily expensive ingredients as… meat.

However, in the early days the menu, combined with 24 hour trading, was a phenomenal success. On any given night, between 1am and 5am, Greenlane Georgie Pie was packed to the gills with stoned, teenage kids, each feeding their munchies on four small $1 mince and cheese pies, and a chocolate thick shake.

The winning concept was quickly repackaged and franchised nationwide. There was much speculation in the press of when ‘God’s Own’ version of Maccas would expand into Australia, and, perhaps, the world. And mate! Wouldn’t that just finally put new zealand on the map!

But it didn’t last. Just when the company had overcapitalised themselves to the eyeballs, expanding into every nook and pie-loving cranny of New Zealand, inflation, and complaints about substandard quality, finally got the better of them. The Dollar Menu could not longer be sustained, and was quickly redrafted to a standard pricing structure. And although the actual prices barely went up a notch (it was more like $1.20), for their army of loyal fans, there was suddenly no point in going. Sales dropped off, stores closed, and eventually 90% of locations were sold to the McDonalds corporation.

In reality, the whole business model was doomed from the start. The restaurants were plastic, with terrible cream and brown decor. The pies stodgy, and, eventually, meatless. Even the children’s playgrounds were considerably shitter than McD’s. But none of these things are remembered by Kiwis, when they reminisce about how much they wish Georgie Pie would re-open.

What New Zealand’s generation X’rs and Y’s really remember is, a time, so very different from their present lives, when they could stay up all night getting stoned and eating dollar pies, without either waking up with a hangover, or getting really, really fat.

Most Kiwis don’t actually want Georgie Pie to re-open. They just wish they were still teenagers.

Article source: kiwianarama.co.nz

Battle for slice of Georgie PIE

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A Kiwi businessman is preparing to lodge legal action against McDonald's over the trademark of Georgie Pie.

North Shore baker Martin Gummer said that he would apply to the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand to have all associated trademarks of Georgie Pie that are owned by McDonald's revoked.

"They're wide open to legal challenge," he said. "We have reason to believe our action will be well founded."

The move comes after McDonald's New Zealand confirmed to The Dominion Post this week that it was researching ways to use the Georgie Pie trademark.

Mr Gummer said his company, Bakers Harvest, had put a proposal to McDonald's to pay a licensing fee and royalties "in good faith". However, the company "just stalled and fobbed us off.
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"We feel we've tried to do the reasonable thing but they don't seem to have any interest."
An Economic Development Ministry spokeswoman confirmed an application to revoke a trademark due to non-use could be made to Iponz for trademarks that had not been used for a period of three years.

Mr Gummer said a survey of 200 existing supplied outlets revealed that 60 per cent of his customers would be interested in stocking and selling Georgie Pie products. A second step would be to look at opening some form of Georgie Pie outlet.
McDonald's New Zealand managing director Mark Hawthorne said the company had owned the Georgie Pie trademarks since 1996, and had renewed them regularly over the years.

"We're comfortable that, from a legal perspective, our trademarks are secure," he said.

"We have been watching the renewed interest in Georgie Pie, and have had a number of people approach us around getting involved."
The company was researching whether Georgie Pie was "still relevant for today's tastes".

Nearly 70 per cent of readers who voted in a Dompost.co.nz poll yesterday wanted McDonald's to revive Georgie Pie.

The pies first appeared in 1977 and the business grew rapidly. However, 1300 people lost their jobs when more than 30 outlets were closed in 1996.

Article source: Stuff.Co.Nz (by GREER McDONALD - The Dominion Post)
Pie recipe, Pie recipes, pie, mince pie, chicken pie, pork pie,

Steak and Cheese Pie recipe

Ingredients :
2 Cloves Garlic, crushed
150mls Beer, your favourite
1/2 tsp Dried Thyme
1 pkt Savoury Short Pastry, thawed
800g Blade Steak
200g Tomato Soup
125g Mushrooms ( optional )
1 Bay Leaf
1 Onion, diced
1 C Grated Cheese
150mls Beef Stock
2 tbsp Olive Oil
25g Seasoned Flour
Milk to Glaze

How to Prepare :
Heat the oil in a large saucepan and saute the garlic, onion and mushrooms for 1 minute.

Meanwhile, toss the Tenderbeef through the seasoned flour, then add to the oil.

Cook for 2-3 minutes until lightly browned, then add the next 9 filling ingredients.

Stir and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

When cooked and thick in consistency, spoon into a 1.8 litre pie dish and top with the cheese.

Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured bench to cover the pie dish plus an extra 5cm/2in.

Cut a 2.5cm/1in-wide strip from the outer edge and place onto the dampened rim of the dish.

Brush with milk, then cover with pastry lid. Press the edges to seal. Decorate with surplus pastry and brush with milk.

Bake at 200c for 40 minutes until golden.

Georgie Pie could be making a comeback

Forget the return of the kakapo from near-extinction, Stacey Jones's rugby league resurrection or the apparition of Sir Roger Douglas in Parliament.

One of the great New Zealand comebacks could be on the cards for budget fast-food chain Georgie Pie.

Riding a wave of public nostalgia, the chain best known for its $1 pie deals is being talked up by its new owners more than a decade after it sank.

Kate Porter, a spokeswoman for fast-food chain McDonald's, said it held the Georgie Pie trademark and was looking at how the company might use it.

McDonald's was "intrigued at the level of passion for the Georgie Pie brand and [we've] put some concepts into research", she said.

The move follows several campaigns urging the revival of the chain.

North Shore baker Martin Gummer has offered to pay a licensing fee and royalties to McDonald's for permission to make the pies.

Broadcasting school students in Christchurch mounted a campaign last year, opening a temporary Georgie Pie shop and shooting a documentary about it.

A Facebook group campaigning to bring back Georgie Pie has about 20,000 members.

Phil Callaghan, 27, owner of Wellington shop Verboom, started making "Bring Back Georgie Pie" merchandise about two years ago. He said the response had been explosive, with thousands of badges sold and some customers bringing in their own memorabilia including a full uniform.

"They always sell well at festivals, where everyone's all about the pie ... every person seems to have a good memory of Georgie Pie."

The recession could boost hopes of a comeback. In the early 1990s, the restaurant sold mince and cheese pies for as little as $1 each about $1.50 in today's terms.

Ms Porter said research was looking at "how much of the love for Georgie Pie was linked to the fact that it was really cheap".

Georgie Pie first opened in 1977, the brainchild of Tom Ah Chee who also opened New Zealand's first supermarket in Otahuhu in 1958.

It grew rapidly and 1300 people lost their jobs when more than 30 outlets were closed in 1996.

- By HANK SCHOUTEN and TOM FITZSIMONS, The Dominion Post (stuff.co.nz)

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Georgie Pie Intro..

Georgie Pie was a fast food chain owned by supermarket operator Progressive Enterprises that hoped to be "New Zealand’s own homegrown alternative to the global fast-food industry giants such as McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and Burger King."

Georgie Pie was the brainchild of Tom Ah Chee, the same man who opened New Zealand's first supermarket (Foodtown Otahuhu, 1958). The first restaurant was opened in Kelston, Auckland in 1977, and expanded considerably in the 1990s.

In 1994, plans were announced to open 25 new outlets per year, with the goal of having 114 restaurants operating by year's end, 1998. The chain came to prominence in the early 1990s with its $1, $2, $3, and $4 "Funtastic Value" menu where everything was one of those four prices, including the popular $1 "Small Pie." At its peak, the chain employed about 1,300 people, 80% of whom were under 20 years old; many of the employees were paid less than employees of rival fast food chain McDonald's. The franchise had hourly youth rates, starting from five dollars for 15 year olds, compared to the then-hourly rate of $8.41 (in 1996) at McDonald’s, regardless of age (as of 2006 McDonald's was also paying youth rates).

The selling of pies allowed Georgie Pie to automate the food production process far more than other chains, which sold more labour-intensive items such as burgers, were able to. It did however mean that Georgie Pie managers had to plan their pie production 40 minutes ahead (the time it took to bake a pie) as opposed to the few minutes it takes to prepare a burger.

The Georgie Pie
The large pies at Georgie Pie were sold in small, unique boxes. Inside the box, the pie was encased in a paper sleeve so it could be eaten without being directly touched with the hand. Small pies were sold in bags. The large pies were a round shape, and the small pies a distinctive square shape. Fruit pies were a smaller round shape. The large pies ranged in a variety of traditional (mince n' cheese/steak n' kidney) and exotic flavours (chinese/mexican/italian).

The pastry was distinctively solid and unflakey to avoid spills and mess. A state of the art factory which produced Georgie Pies was located in Manukau City, Auckland. The new automated factory replaced the original factory which operated out of Favona Road (behind Progressive Enterprises Head Office). This new factory was designed to support the continued expansion of the brand both locally and internationally. It was capable of producing 6,000+ pies per hour which were snap frozen (in a spiral freezer) in a raw state. Frozen pies were distributed to stores where they were freshly baked using impinger (conveyor) ovens. At the time it opened, the factory was Progessive Enterprises' 2nd biggest investment ever.

The overhead costs associated with this factory could only be offset by increasing production via the opening of more outlets and by increasing supply (of a 'basic' brand pie) to the supermarket chains (Foodtown & Countdown). The decision by a short term CEO at Progressive, not to continue with planned expansion was a key factor in the demise of the brand. This decision was based on his view that pies were unhealthy and demand for them would diminish (see 'Listener' front page article).


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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