Nando's
Nando's (/nænˈdoʊz/) is a South African restaurant chain that specialises in Portuguese-African food, including its signature flame-grilled peri-peri style chicken.[lower-alpha 1] Founded in Johannesburg in 1987, Nando's operates over 1,000 outlets in 35 countries. Their logo is the famous Portuguese symbol, the Rooster of Barcelos.
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Type | Private |
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Industry | Fast food/casual dining |
Genre | Portuguese-African style peri-peri chicken |
Founded | 1987Johannesburg, South Africa Gauteng, South Africa | ,
Founder | Fernando Duarte and Robert Brozin |
Headquarters | Lorentzville, Johannesburg, South Africa |
Key people | Dick Enthoven, owner |
Products | Chicken and related cuisine |
Website | nandos |
History
![](../I/Flame-grilled_PERi-PERi_chicken.jpg.webp)
The restaurant was founded in 1987 in the Johannesburg suburb Rosettenville, by Mozambique-born Fernando Duarte and South African-born Robert Brozin. Upon visiting a Colonial Portuguese-African[1] takeaway named Chickenland, and trying the chicken with peri peri (a sauce that was first developed in nearby Mozambique and further refined in South Africa before being exported to other Portuguese territories and mainland Portugal) they bought the restaurant for about 80,000 rand (equivalent of about £25,000 at the time).[2] They renamed the restaurant Nando's after Fernando's first born son. By 1989, the restaurant had three outlets in Johannesburg and one in Portugal.[3][2] Capricorn Ventures International acquired the chain in 1992.[4] As of 2017, there were over 1,000 Nando's branches in 35 countries.[5]
In 2010, Advertising Age magazine named Nando's one of the world's top 30 hottest marketing brands alongside Tata Nano, MTN and Natura.[6] During the same year, the success of Nando’s in the U.K. led The Guardian to write that Nando's is a modern restaurant brand that has “changed the face of British fast food.”[7] In 2012 Nando's 1000th store worldwide opened.[8] As of July 2014 the Nando's restaurant group was ultimately owned by South African businessman Dick Enthoven and his family. Enthoven's son, Robby Enthoven who took over running the restaurants in 1993, was responsible for expanding the Nando's chain in the United Kingdom.[9]
In 2018, American-based recruitment website Indeed named Nando's as the UK's sixth best private sector employer[10] based on millions of employee ratings and reviews.[11]
Worldwide locations
![](../I/Nandos_world_map.png.webp)
Nando's has locations in five continents worldwide.[3]
Africa
![](../I/Nandos-Canal-Walk.jpg.webp)
South Africa
Fernando Duarte and his friend Robert Brozin are the founders of the first Nando's restaurant bought a joint previously called "ChickenLand" and renamed it Nando's. They opened it in 1987.[2][12][13] By 2018, there were 340 Nando's restaurants in the country.[14]
Botswana
Nando's has been operating in Botswana since 1993.[3] There are currently seventeen restaurants in Botswana: nine in Gaborone, two in Francistown, and one each in Jwaneng, Maun, Mahalapye, Palapye, Kasane and Letlhakane.
Eswatini
There are two outlets in Eswatini (Swaziland), in Mbabane and Manzini.[15]
Namibia
Nando's launched in Namibia in 1995.[3] Nando's closed all their restaurants in Namibia in 2018.[20]
Zambia
Nando's began operating in Zambia in 2002. Nando's has twenty-two restaurants in Zambia.[3]
Zimbabwe
In Zimbabwe, there are a total of thirteen restaurants. It was founded in the year 1998.[21]
Asia
![](../I/Nando's_Malasia.jpg.webp)
Bahrain
Nando's has five restaurants in Bahrain at present.[22]
Bangladesh
Nando's has four restaurants in Dhaka, Bangladesh at present. First restaurant was opened in Dhanmondi in 2007.[23]
India
Nando's opened restaurants in India in late 2010. As of February 2013, Nando's has restaurants in five cities.[24] Nando's plans additional expansion in India.[25]
Malaysia
Nando's has been established in Malaysia since 1998. As of February 2019, there were seventy-six restaurants operating throughout the country, with plans to operate 100 locations with about 2,000 employees within 4–5 years. The vast majority of the locations are centered around greater Kuala Lumpur.[26][27]
Pakistan
Nando's has been established since 2001. It currently has ten restaurants nationwide. Nando's has outlets in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad and Faisalabad.[28]
Qatar
In Qatar, Nando's has been established since 2001, with the first restaurant located on Salwa Road.[29]
Saudi Arabia
Nando's has a branch in Red Sea Mall, Jeddah, since December 2018.[30]
Singapore
In Singapore, Nando's opened its first restaurant on 9 May 2010;[31] as of December 2015 there are eleven outlets in Singapore.[32]
United Arab Emirates
In the United Arab Emirates, Nandos has 18 branches.
Ireland
Nando's was first established in Ireland in 2008. The company opened its flagship restaurant on St Andrew Street in the city centre of Dublin in November 2011, employing sixty staff members to manage a 3,800 square feet (350 m2) space spread over two floors.[33][34] As of early 2015, they have expanded to a total of ten outlets in Ireland.[35]
United Kingdom
![](../I/White_Rose_Centre_Nandos.jpg.webp)
Nando's opened its first UK restaurants in 1992 in the west London suburbs of Ealing and Earls Court, initially focusing on takeaway food.[2] The UK arm, owned by the Enthoven family via a private equity company, struggled until chairman Dick Enthoven put his son Robert in control. The focus then moved from takeaways to a mixed service (counter ordering and table service) model.[2] Nando’s expanded in the UK in 1993. The company now employs around 8,000 staff in the UK and as of 2013 had over 280 branches, with some sixty serving food conforming with Muslim dietary laws (halal).[2]
In 2010, Nando's UK won the Sunday Times's best place to work award in the big company category.[36] Its sauces and marinades were also retailed in UK supermarkets.[36]
Nando's claims to have the largest collection of South African art in the UK, with over 5,000 works displayed in restaurants; original artworks are commissioned by the company.[36][37]
The United Kingdom is one of Nando's largest markets.[38]
In March 2020, all 400 UK restaurants closed temporarily due to nationwide lockdown rules introduced by the government to limit the spread of COVID-19. In late April 2020, Nando's reopened select locations for delivery and collection services, with many more locations opening throughout May.[39][40] In early July 2020, the restaurant chain started reopening a few of its outlets for eat-in service.[41]
Canada
![](../I/NandosMarkham.jpg.webp)
Nando's has operated since 1994 in Canada, with branches in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario.[42]
United States
Nando's opened its first United States location in 2008 in Washington, D.C. As of 2019 Nando's had forty-two restaurants in the US: twelve in Illinois, six in Washington, D.C., fourteen in Maryland, and ten in Virginia.[43]
Oceania
![](../I/Nando's%252C_Palmerston_North%252C_New_Zealand.JPG.webp)
Australia
Nando's has been in the Australian marketplace since 1990, when the first restaurant opened in Tuart Hill in Western Australia. As of 2013 there were over 270 restaurants in Australia, with further growth planned.[44][45]
Controversies
Australian refugee advertisement
In Australia, Nando's ran an advertising campaign based around the 2002 political controversy regarding the mandatory detention of refugees. The detainees had been waging a hunger strike campaign, even resorting to sewing their lips closed. Nando's adverts proclaimed that the strikers "decided to unsew their lips after hearing the news that with every Nando's quarter chicken combo, Nando's are giving away an extra quarter chicken free." Melbourne's Sphere Advertising said that the ad was designed to spark controversy, saying that they knew that "there's a section of our audience that's going to be uncomfortable... but we want to evoke a response."[47]
Malema advertisement
During the South African national elections of 2009, Nando's made an advert lampooning African National Congress Youth League then president Julius Malema by using a puppet that resembled him. Malema's lawyers sued Nando's and the original advert was removed. However, an altered version was released, with the puppet's face pixelated and the voice altered. The puppet used in the advert was later sold at auction for 100,000 rand, which was donated to an educational charity.[48]
"Last dictators" advertisement
In 2011, Nando's launched a "Last dictators" advert in South Africa.[49] The 60-second commercial shows a sad Robert Mugabe dining alone at Christmas in a large mansion while he reminisces about "happier times" with former dictators, such as playing water tag with Muammar Gaddafi, making snow angels in the sand with Saddam Hussein, singing Karaoke with Mao Zedong, pushing P. W. Botha on a swing set, and riding a Covenanter cruiser tank with Idi Amin in a similar fashion to Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet embracing each other from the film Titanic, while the music from "Those Were the Days" is played.[50] Musekiwa Kumbula, holder of the Nando's franchise in Zimbabwe, said his group "strongly feels the advertisement is insensitive and in poor taste." The advert also offended Chipangano, a Zimbabwean youth militia loyal to Mugabe, who then demanded an apology from Nando's, threatened to boycott the South Africa-based chain, and demanded the advert be withdrawn or the restaurant face retribution.[51] Nando's South Africa subsequently withdrew the advert citing threats to its staff in Zimbabwe from a youth group.[52]
Corporation tax bill
Both The Guardian newspaper (UK) and the American non-profit publication ICIJ received documents in July 2014 revealing the details of past and present offshore clients of wealth managers Kleinwort Benson, including the Nando's restaurant group. The Guardian published its belief that, through the use of businesses in Malta, Guernsey and the Netherlands, Enthoven legally reduces the group's UK corporation tax bill by "up to a third." According to the British newspaper, Enthoven's profits eventually accumulate in the Kleinwort Benson-managed "Taro III Trust" that is based in Jersey and contains at least £750 million.[9]
While no member of the Enthoven family agreed to speak with The Guardian, a company representative explained that UK tax laws are not applicable to Enthoven, as "he is not resident in the US or the UK." The spokesperson also stated that, in the UK, Nando's paid corporation tax of £12.6 million on a profit of £58.2 million for the year ending February 2013.[9]
See also
- Chicken restaurant
- List of fast-food chicken restaurants
- Oporto – Australian-based Portuguese themed chicken restaurant
- TASTE Holdings – management group in which Chickenland (Pty) Ltd has significant shareholding
References
- On its website, Nando's styles "peri-peri" as "PERi-PERi".
- Fick, David S. (2002). Entrepreneurship in Africa: A Study of Successes. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-56720-536-7.
- Brown, Mick (11 March 2013). "Nando's nation: the chicken that conquered Britain". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
- "Nando's Worldwide". Nando's. Archived from the original on 13 April 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
- McCreesh, Louise. "There's Nothing Cheeky About These Nando's Facts, Including Its HUGE Fan Base Overseas". Bustle. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
- Olmstead, Larry (10 August 2017). "South Africa-based chicken chain does not disappoint in Chicago and D.C." USA Today. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
- "Marketing". Nando's. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
- Sawyer, Miranda (15 May 2010). "How Nando's conquered Britain". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- "The History of Nando's | Rate YOUR Nando's - The Nando's Review Website". www.rateyournandos.com. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- David Leigh, James Ball and Leila Haddou (10 July 2014). "Nando's using secretive tax haven trust to avoid inheritance tax bills". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 12 July 2014.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
- Taylor, Chloe (22 October 2018). "Apple named best private sector employer in the UK". CNBC. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
- "Top-Rated Workplaces: Best in the Private Sector – Indeed Blog". Indeed Blog. 22 October 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
- "Nando's Story". Nando's. Archived from the original on 16 July 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
- Sawyer, Miranda (15 May 2010). "How Nando's conquered Britain". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
- "Johannesburgers and fries". Business Tech. 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
- "The Nando's Review Website". rateyournandos.com.
- "Nandos Mauritius (Trianon, Mauritius)". Yelo.mu. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
- "Nando's (Port Louis): Mauritius Restaurants". Nandos-port-louis.restaurant.mu. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
- "Nando's: Bagatelle Mall of Mauritius". Mallofmauritius.com. 26 November 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
- "Nando's: GBLC". nandos=gblc.restaurent.mu. 4 April 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
- Brandt, Edgar (5 November 2018). "Nando's withdrawal from Namibia unexplained – New Era Live". neweralive.na. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
- Anonymous (24 April 2012). "About us". nandos.co.zw.
- "Nando's Bahrain". Retrieved 2 July 2018.
- "Nando's Bangladesh". Retrieved 28 February 2018.
- "Nando's India". Nandosindia.com. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
- "Nando's plans pan India expansion". Franchise India. 2 November 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
- "Restaurants | Nando's Malaysia". Nandos.com.my. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
- "Nando's CEO gets frank on lessons learnt". bfm.my. 25 February 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Archive copy is usurped
- "Nando's Qatar". Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- "Nando's at Red Sea Mall, Jeddah to open on Dec. 8". Saudigazette. 1 December 2018.
- "About Us | Nando's Singapore". Nandos.com.sg. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
- "Restaurants | Nando's Singapore". Nandos.com.sg. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
- "Nando's to create 65 jobs in Dublin". RTÉ News. 10 August 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
- Hugh O'Connell (1 November 2011). "Chicken-tastic: Nandos announces 60 new jobs in Dublin". Business ETC. TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
- "Restaurants | Nando's". Nandos.ie. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
- Sawyer, Miranda (16 May 2010). "How Nando's conquered Britain". The Observer. London. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
- "African Art". Nando's. Archived from the original on 18 December 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
- "Nando's serves up £1bn global sales as UK demand continues to surge". The Irish News. 28 November 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- "Reopening for Online Ordering". Nando's. 27 May 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- Smithers, Rebecca (28 April 2020). "Nando's joins Burger King in reopening some branches for deliveries". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- Lewis, Anna (7 July 2020). "Nando's Has Announced When It's Reopening Restaurants For Eating In". Delish. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
- Erasmus, Janine (17 July 2008). "Nando's blazes into US". Media Club South Africa. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
- "Nando's – Our Restaurants". Nando's USA. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
- "Nando's: About Us". Retrieved 8 March 2014.
- "Nando's Restaurants near Melbourne". Nando's Australia. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
- "New stores open as Nando's sold back to Australia" (Media release). Franchise New Zealand. Franchise New Zealand. 3 April 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
- Gotting, Peter (29 July 2002). "Asylum seekers' plight used to peddle chickens". The Age. Melbourne. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
- Karyn Maughan (7 May 2009). "Julius puppet finds new home". IOL News. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
- Rotherham, Seth (24 November 2011). "Nando's Releases 'Last Dictator' Commercial, Feat. Mugabe, Gaddafi And Hussein". 2OceansVibe. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
- Nando's – Last Dictator Standing – 2012 on YouTube
- Shaw, Angus (30 November 2011). "'Last dictator' spoof angers Mugabe faithful". The Independent. London. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
- "Nando's 'Mugabe' ad causes controversy in South Africa". BBC News. 2 December 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2012.