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| Red Rooster | |
| Formerly | Alverno Pty. Limited[1] |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Fast food restaurants |
| Founded | 1972; 54 years ago (1972) |
| Headquarters | Chatswood, New South Wales, Australia |
Key people |
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| Products |
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Number of employees | 7500+[2] |
| Parent | PAG Asia Capital throughCraveable Brands |
| Website | redrooster |
Red Rooster is an Australianfast food chain. It sellsroast chicken alongside common fast food items, such as burgers,chips, salads, and beverages. Since 2021, it has also offeredfried chicken.[3]
In 1972, Peter and TheoKailis opened the first Red Rooster inKelmscott, Western Australia, a suburb ofPerth. They sought to compete with American fast food chains such asKentucky Fried Chicken, which came to Australia in 1968, by emulating their standardised model. Red Rooster proved successful, growing to 45 stores inWestern Australia andVictoria beforeMyer bought it in 1981. Myer's 1986 purchase and merger of another chain,Big Rooster, into Red Rooster expanded it into the eastern states.
In 2002,Chicken Treat ownerAustralian Fast Foods (AFF) acquired Red Rooster. It changed hands betweenprivate equity firms several times and is currently owned byCraveable Brands, aholding company ofPAG Asia Capital which also owns Chicken Treat andOporto. In 2010, most Red Roosters were converted intofranchises. While it has experienced a decline in popularity in recent years, as of 2021, Red Rooster is the sixth-most-popular fast food restaurant in Australia.[4]
In 1972, Peter and Theo Kailis opened the first Red Rooster inKelmscott, a suburb ofPerth.[5] The brothers were inspired by a chicken shop onWanneroo Road.[6] It marked a departure fromtheir family background in fishing,pearling, and seafood. Unlike local restaurants, Red Rooster sought to compete with Americanfast food chains by emulating their standardised menu, branding, and marketing strategies.[7]
At the time, American franchises such asMcDonald's were yet to expand toWestern Australia. They entered the Australian market in 1968, whenKentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) opened inSydney, proving popular with the country's fledglingrestaurant scene.[8]
Initially, Red Rooster's chicken menu was based onrotisserie chicken, which, insofar as it is used in fast food restaurants at all, has been described as "definitely an Australian thing".[9]
During the 1970s, Peter Kailis invented the Red Rooster Hawaiian Pack, made up of rotisserie chicken, a deep-fried banana and a pineapple ring.[9]
Red Rooster quickly proved successful. In July 1981, when theMyer Emporium bought the chain for $8.97 million, it was the fourth-largest fast food group in Australia. It had 28 locations in Western Australia and 12 inVictoria,[10][11] alongside five Red Bullhamburger outlets, which were separate buildings on the same site as Red Roosters.[10][12] After the deal, Peter Kailis retained his positions as chairman and general manager.[12]
In 1981, Coles Myer bought theBig Rooster chain to expand into the eastern states (except non-Steggles' Queensland stores, formerly known as "Big Rooster", which were purchased in 1992), and renamed the stores "Red Rooster".[13][14] Big Rooster remains operational inPapua New Guinea.[15][16]
Between about the mid-1980s and 1995, Red Rooster replaced its rotisserie ovens withcombi ovens, which reduced the cook time from 1½ hours to 55 minutes.[17][18] Despite that change, Red Rooster continues to sell "rotisserie-style chicken" at its outlets.[19][20]
In 2002, Red Rooster was purchased by Western Australian companyAustralian Fast Foods,[21] which owned the competing Chicken Treat fast food chain. In 2007, both chains were sold for $180 million to a consortium formed by the management andQuadrant Private Equity.[22]
In 2009, the Red Rooster chain in New Zealand closed its stores.[23] The first New Zealand outlet, inTakanini, had opened in December 2004.
In 2010, Red Rooster changed company-owned stores to franchises.[24] In 2011, Quadrant Private Equity sold parent company Quick Service Restaurant Holdings (later renamedCraveable Brands) toArcher Capital.[25]
At some point prior to 2012, Red Rooster dropped its "famous Hawaiian Pack" from its menu.[26] That year, the company reinstated the Hawaiian Pack, and also its Chicken Cheese and Bacon Burger, after running a social media campaign inviting customers to vote for their favourites.[26][27] Two years later, in 2014, Red Rooster conducted a second phase of the campaign, during which customers were asked to vote between the two meals with the winner to stay on the menu permanently.[27] By early 2018, the Classic Tropicana, which had a second pineapple fritter instead of the banana fritter, had replaced the Hawaiian Pack.[6] As of 2025[update], the Classic Tropicana, in turn, had been replaced by the Trop Box, also with pineapple but no banana.[28]
In 2019, ownership switched to PAG Asia Capital, a private equity group based inHong Kong, who bought Craveable Brands for about $500 million.[29] In Queensland later that year, seven Red Rooster stores on the Sunshine Coast closed when the franchisee went intovoluntary administration.[30]
The demographerBernard Salt has echoed an observation that Red Rooster restaurants in Sydney are almost all inGreater Western Sydney, with the 'Red Rooster Line' dividing the city between the richer east and north, and the poorer west and south.[31]
In 2009, Red Rooster ran an advertising campaign called "They don't get it in America" featuring comedianTom Gleeson in the United States asking people about Red Rooster.[32][33]
In 2010, Red Rooster was a sponsor ofSupercars Championship teamHolden Racing Team. In 2016, the team returned as the title sponsor of theSydney SuperNight 300.
In 2011, Red Rooster changed to promoting its restaurants as healthy, fresh and quick.[34]
Red Rooster launched its trial delivery service throughMenulog in September 2014 from theBaulkham Hills, New South Wales restaurant,[35] in partnership withMenulog.[36] As well as delivery to homes, it was announced delivery options to businesses, sporting clubs and local organisations would be available.[37]
Media related toRed Rooster at Wikimedia Commons