Karen Harverson
George Sombonos — owner of the R100-million Chicken Licken, the third biggest fast food chain in South Africa — is unperturbed and mildly surprised by the uproar caused by the successful outcome of his court case against US hamburger chain McDonald’s.
He admits to feeling “very relieved” at the verdict delivered last week by Justice Brian Southwood. “This case has taught me perseverance and how to deal with the criticism and insults,” he says, adding quietly that he was a bit disappointed by the lack of support, especially in the media, for a local businessman.
Much has been written about the huge investments McDonald’s will eventually bring into the country but little about the contribution Sombonos has made to the economy and the 3 000 jobs his 255 stores provide.
All 15 of the stores he owns are managed by black women — and all but one of his team of executives are women.
“I think women work harder because they’ve got more to prove –they don’t play golf or date women — and they’re committed because they’ve got families to support.”
The son of Greek immigrants who came to South Africa at the time of the Second World War, Sombonos says he was brought up behind the cafe counter in Johannesburg and quickly learnt the tricks of the trade. “At age 11 — we knew not to the answer the phone when the bank manager was calling,” he jokes, seated in a small office above a Chicken Licken in Booysens.
He describes himself as just an ordinary man who goes to work every day and comes home at night. “My philosophy is just to work hard and look after your family,” he says, adding that he does have a weakness for good Italian food and Corona beer.
After matriculating at Potchefstroom Boys High in 1966, Sombonos went to work for his father who owned a fast food roadhouse, the Dairy Den in Ridgeway. “I wanted to go into advertising,” he confides, adding that it was difficult to get into an ad agency without a relative in the business.
In 1981 Sombonos converted the shop into a Chicken Licken. “The original name was Golden Fried Chicken but it wasn’t registerable so I adopted Chicken Licken, a name suggested by one of the waiters who worked for me.
Later on that year, a second Chicken Licken was opened in Lenasia, followed gradually by a further 25. “I gave the franchise away for nothing in those days because I wanted to build the chain up and didn’t even charge a royalty for the first six months of operations,” says Sombonos.
Growth of the chain was slow up until 1983 as it was embroiled in a court case with Kentucky Fried Chicken which felt the name Chicken Licken infringed on its slogan ‘finger-licking good’. “We won the case and business really took off.”
Today the chain consists of 255 stores, 15 owned by Sombonos and the rest franchised. More than 60 percent of the stores are black-owned with a third located in the townships.
The company’s adspend is the second highest in the industry – amounting to more than R11-million this year.
Sombonos’ management style is unobtrusive — to the extent that he might not visit his Sandton offices for up to a year or see his accountant for six months . “I trust my co-workers to do what they have to do.”
His advice to someone starting out in business is ‘focus’. “Decide what you want to do and don’t move away from it.”
He attributes his success to the mutual loyalty of the holding company, its franchisees and its suppliers.