Herfy

Infobox_Company
company_name = Herfy Food Services Corporation
company_
company_type = Public
company_slogan = "25 years of good taste"
foundation = 1981 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
location = Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
key_people = Sheikh Ahmed Al-Said, Founder
Ibrahim Al-Hamoud, First corprate partner
H.R.H. Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Al Saud, Current CEO

industry = Restaurants
num_employees = 1'800 full time
products = Fast food, including Super Herfy, Kufta,Fish Fillet, french fries, and milkshakes
homepage = www.herfy.com

Herfy is the largest fast food restaurant chain in Saudi Arabia and one of the largest in the Middle East, surpassing major international corporations in terms of local size. It has a total of more than 100 restaurants and 2000 employees throughout Saudi Arabia. It also has many subsidiaries including Herfy Bakery and a soon to be built meat processing plant. It has been an entirely Saudi-owned company since its inception, a fact the company feels proud of.

History

Herfy was founded by Sheikh Ahmed Al-Said in 1981 who had returned to Saudi Arabia after studying in the United States. Noticing the fast-food craze in America headed by such restaurants as McDonalds and Burger King, he decided to return to Saudi Arabia and start his own local fast food chain. He joined with Panda United, a chain of Saudi markets, to launch the first Herfy restaurant in 1981. Herfy continued to grow with Panda United by opening a branch in every new Panda market. Herfy Bakery opened one year later in 1982 to provide fresh in-house bread to both Herfy and Panda.

In 1994, Panda United was bought by HRH Prince Waleed bin Talal's Kingdom Holding Company. Therefore, Panda's 70% stake in Herfy was transferred to Kingdom. Bolstered by the new large budget provided by Kingdom, Herfy's growth skyrocketed during this era.

In 1998, AlAzizia Panda United (Panda's new name) was incorporated with the Savola Group headed by the highly respected Adel Al-Fakeh. Therefore, Herfy became part of the group. Herfy's growth again grew as the number of Herfy chains doubled.

Future Projects

Herfy only very recently opened its first overseas branch in Bahrain in cooperation with local partners Al Meer Trading. Franchise agreements in the U.A.E and Kuwait have been concluded and more franchise requests have been received.

To cope with the added overseas branches, Herfy is planning to open its own 13 million Saudi Riyal meat and chicken processing plant in a similar way to Herfy Bakery.

External links

* [http://www.herfy.com/ Official Website]