Strong Sales, Growth Help Wing Zone "spread Its Wings" In ‘06

80-Plus-Unit Franchise Breaks $40 Million Mark; Opens 19 New Restaurants

(Monday, January 22, 2007) - After a tremendously successful 2006 full of healthy store sales, the opening of 19 new restaurants, signed deals for 40 future franchise locations, including the franchise's first area developer, and the launching of a new prototype and Web site, Wing Zone certainly has a lot to "cluck" about.



"Last year was one of great success for Wing Zone," said President and Founder Matt Friedman, noting that sales in 2006 reached $40 million, up from $29 million in 2005 despite rising gas prices. "With the dedication and hard work of our franchisees and home office, we have a lot to proud of and a lot to look forward to this year."



Wing Zone, a fast-growing national QSR chain best noted for its award-winning, 25 flavors of Buffalo chicken wings, had a year of franchise bests and highlights, led by the opening of 19 new restaurants and the signing of 40 future franchise locations, including its first area developer deal with existing franchisee Todd Waldemar, who opened his first Wing Zone location last year in Jacksonville, N.C. and plans to open 13 locations in the next six years.



"I saw an amazing opportunity with Wing Zone in terms of growth and potential," Waldemar said of the franchise that was named "Festival Favorite" at the National Buffalo Wing Festival and will be the title sponsor at the International Franchise Association's annual Taste of Franchise, scheduled for February 24 at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. "All a customer needs to do is try Wing Zone once, and they are hooked, and the same goes for franchisees."



As a way to build upon its 2006 momentum, Wing Zone launched a new prototype design near the end of last year, adding 25-40 seats to a store design that was specific for take-out or delivery only. Future locations plan to incorporate the new prototype elements, including flexible, comfortable seating, upbeat colors and menu board.



In addition to Wing Zone testing non-trans fat oil at select locations as a new healthier way to cook their award winning chicken wings, customers were greeted with a new Web site in 2006. The site features Online ordering and is enticing for both existing and potential franchisees, as well as new and old customers alike, as simplified navigation has been installed.



"We wanted to create a universal state-of-the-art Web site to successfully attract new customers and excite existing and potential franchisees," Friedman said. "The new site also helped us launch our Online ordering system, something that has received great feedback from our customers, as now, all of our specials, new products, and food nutritional information is all centrally located in one place."



The projection for 2007 is even "hotter" with 35 new store openings scheduled with plans to sign an additional 50 agreements. With all of the expected growth, the company added David Kaiser in 2006 as Vice President of Operations. Kaiser comes with a long history in the restaurant industry. He worked with Krispy Kreme and was Blimpie franchisee before joining the Wing Zone team. Kaiser has stressed that Wing Zone is in a very strategic growth period, not looking to expand into new territories, but fill out existing regions where the Wing Zone brand is strong.



"I truly believe that we are building for the future," Kaiser said. "At Wing Zone, we care about the bottom line for each of our franchisees. It's that type of thinking that makes a company successful in regards to the top line."



About Wing Zone
Wing Zone was founded in 1991 at the University of Florida by Matt Friedman and Adam Scott, who cooked wings with homemade sauces in their fraternity house kitchen and delivered them to fellow college students. After expanding with several Wing Zone locations, Scott and Friedman began franchising Wing Zone in 1999. Wing Zone currently has more than 80 locations open, with 40 more in development, many of which will be open in early 2007. While earning customer loyalty from consumers nationwide, Wing Zone is also receiving accolades from, community, food service and franchise industry insiders as well. In fact, Wing Zone was rated a Top 20 New Franchise by Entrepreneur Magazine, included in Bond's Top 100 Franchise Opportunities, ranked in Franchise Times' Fast 55 and was recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of the fastest growing, privately held companies in America. For more information about Wing Zone visit www.wingzone.com.

Chad Nason
Account Executive
Fishman Public Relations
"Franchise, Publicity, Results"
847.945.1300 x234
cnason@fishmanpr.com

View all Wing Zone Press Releases

This article has been read 203 times.

Printer Friendly