Guzman Y Gomez outlook for the next 18 months
Steven Marks, Founder & MD GYG talks about the outlook for his restaurants and the changes he is making to the business.
QSR Media: What’s new at GYG?
Steven: Opening stores, evolving our menu, new training systems, and hiring more operational
people!
QSR Media: What kind of role do your investors play?
Steven: Having the people responsible for building McDonald’s Australasia on your team is incredible. They love it! They are enthusiastic about our concept and are always accessible. They’re constantly pushing us to better our store economics and have been helpful in planning GYG’s strategy for expansion.
QSR Media: Westfield Sydney, how is it going?
Steven: We opened during the first stage, which was slow to start. But once the entire food court opened, it has improved every week and we’re pleased with our top line growth. That being said, we expect more….and it will happen.
QSR Media: How do you pick locations?
Steven: Since we still are small, there are still obvious locations for us to open. We are planning on adding a decent number of stores for next year, and will be bringing on a full time real estate person to handle our growth.
QSR Media: What is the outlook for GYG in the next 12-18 months?
Steven: Make sure every store we open is successful. Improve our internal communication platforms, improve our staff development programs, and most of all improve our customer’s GYG experience with great fresh food! We will be looking to add some new salsas, and different drink options.
QSR Media: There are few more Mexican QSR players in Australia, is this a good thing for GYG?
Steven: As long as they do it well….which unfortunately is not the always the case.
QSR Media: The well documented decline in retail in Australia, how much of a challenge is this to your
business?
Steven: Fashion has been struggling, but well priced food and services are doing well. Hopefully the decline in retail will provide more opportunistic rental deals!
