Stuart Anderson’s Black Angus

Country: Singapore
Structure: Joint Venture as a platform for franchising
Industry: Casual dining family steakhouse restaurant

Background
Stuart Anderson's Black Angus, established in 1964, currently has 110 Black Angus and Cattle Company restaurants in the western United States and in Singapore. Stuart Anderson’s parent company, American Restaurant Group, is headquartered in Los Altos, California.

Challenge
The consumer markets in Asia, with a growing affinity to American brands and lifestyles, represented an excellent opportunity for the company to expand. Revenues from international expansion could help to bolster Stuart Anderson’s annual domestic sales of $300 million.

Where to start? Management knew the steakhouse restaurant business inside-and-out …in the U.S. With unanswered questions about the concepts’ cultural application, legal considerations and language barriers, American Restaurant Group also knew that going to Asia was a step they prefered to not take on their own.

Solution
BrandAmerica was retained by American Restaurant Group, in 1997, to locate an Asian partner for the expansion of the concept in Asia.

BrandAmerica helped American Restaurant Group to identify their needs and to develop a profile of the ideal Asian partner. Food service experience, local influence and the financial resources required to fund the venture - from the ground up - were some of the important characteristics of the ideal Asian partner. Based upon these criteria, BrandAmerica first prioritized the Asian markets and then initiated its search. Within nine months, BrandAmerica had identified the potential partner and began duscussions amongst the partners which ultimately led to the joint venture.

The joint venture was formed in Singapore, which included, in addition to American Restaurant Group; Harvester Investment Holdings, a Singapore-based group of investors; Changi International Airport Services (“CIAS”), a large government-owned food service company that caters to airlines, ships and hospitals; and Mr. Lau Sum Wing, a leading local restaurateur.

Result
SABA Asia (Stuart Anderson’s Black Angus Asia), the joint venture between American Restaurant Group, the Singapore-based partners and BrandAmerica, has developed, owns and operates two Black Angus restaurants in Singapore as the launch point for franchising Black Angua restaurants throughout the entire Asian region.

The first Singapore-based Black Angus was launched in September of 1999. Following its first year of operation, the premier unit reported revenues of over US$ 2.5 million, triggering the development of a second unit. In the entire 110 Stuart Anderson's Black Angus restaurant chain, the two Singapore-based units are the most profitable with respect to revenues per square foot and annual EBITDA.