He bought the KFC franchise. His company is now worth over $3 billion

Jack Cowin, founder and chairman of Competitive Foods Australia.

Courtesy of Jack Cowen

As a kid, Jack Cowen shoveled snow, delivered newspapers, and sold Christmas cards for cash. When he was in his 20s, people were eating burgers instead of cards. Fast forward to today: The 82-year-old is a billionaire with his fast-food empire.

Cowin is the founder and chairman of Competitive Foods Australia, which operates Burger King in Australia as Hungry Jack’s. He is also the company’s largest shareholder Domino’s Pizza in Australia and supports a plant-based meat substitute company called v2food.

Before founding Hungry Jack’s, Cowin introduced KFC to Australia in 1969. He later sold the 55-store KFC franchise in 2013 in a deal worth about $71 million, according to a representative of Rival Foods Australia.

Cowin told CNBC Make It that his business is now worth more than $3 billion and brings in more than $300 million in revenue annually.

an enterprising child

Growing up in Canada, Corwin realized early on that he wanted to live a free life. His father was an employee of Ford Motor Company and needed to travel frequently for work.

As a child, I wanted the freedom to do what I wanted. I think I saw that early on because (I saw) Dad on the treadmill here, there, everywhere.

Jack Cowen

Founder and Chairman of Australian Competitive Foods

“One day he gets a call and you’re going to Brazil, or you’re going to Mexico, or something like that… When you work for a big company, the company decides where you’re going, (and) you What to do,” Cowen said.

“As a kid, I wanted the freedom to do what I wanted to do. I think I saw that early on because (I saw) my dad on the treadmill here, there, everywhere,” he said. He didn’t want to listen to “the whims and calls of the company.”

So when Corwin was a kid, he spent his time outside school mowing lawns and delivering newspapers. “As a kid I never had to ask for money,” he said. “I’ve been a salesperson since I was very young, probably eight or 10 years old.”

By the time he graduated from college, Corwin began traveling from farm to farm selling “trees, shrubs and nursing animals,” he said. He said he was so successful at it that he earned an annual salary of $8,000, while his college professors earned only $5,000.

In 1964, he graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a bachelor’s degree and then found a job selling life insurance, which he claimed to be very good at.

“I’m known as a salesperson,” he said.

Australia wins gold

By the late 1960s, Cowin was settling in Canada with his wife and first child when one day he received a call from several high school friends.

His friend got a job with KFC in the US and was sent to Australia to do some market research to determine if they should expand into the country.

At that stage of the game, Australia’s restaurant scene was fish and chip shops, Chinese restaurants and fancy white tablecloth restaurants.

Jack Cowen

Founder and Chairman of Australian Competitive Foods

“Because my dad (worked) there and I was the only one who knew where Australia was on the map… they called me and said: ‘You should be here. You should come and see this. So, in the absence of At any given moment I was on a plane flying to Australia,” Cowen said.

Cowin landed in Australia in February 1969 and spent three weeks there helping his friends with research, eventually discovering that there was indeed a market Australian fast food.

According to official representatives of the company, Jack Cowin will have more than 380 Hungry Jack’s stores as of 2024.

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“At that stage of the game, Australia’s restaurant industry was fish and chip shops, Chinese restaurants and high-end white tablecloth restaurants,” he said. At the same time, the popularity of fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s, Burger King, and KFC is also rising in North America.

“So at the end of three weeks, I paid $1,000 as a deposit for a KFC franchise (and) if this American company were to open a store, I would have a franchise of 10 stores,” he said.

The “biggest breakthrough” in his life

Six months later, he received a call that KFC USA had agreed to expand into Australia and Kevin had the opportunity to own his first franchise store. But he had no funds, so he started raising money.

The biggest breakthrough of my life was… I got on my bike and 30 Canadians each loaned me $10,000, so I got $300,000.

Jack Cowen

Founder and Chairman of Competitive Foods Australia

Imagine, “This kid walks into your office and says he wants to borrow $10,000, which is probably around $100,000 or more today… He has no business experience and no interest in your money… How long will it take you to He kicked out of your office “wasting your time?” “

“The biggest breakthrough of my life was… I got on my bike and 30 Canadians each loaned me $10,000, so I got $300,000,” he said. “Otherwise I would still be shoveling snow in Canada, and I wouldn’t have the financial means at that time.”

In December 1969, Cowin moved his family to Perth, Australia, where he opened the first KFC franchise store. “It’s like drilling for oil on your first prospect well and producing oil because it was a huge success,” he said.

“Then you open two more, you get into the burger business, you get into the pizza business, you get into the food manufacturing business, and today that business is a $3 billion business, making $300 million a year.”

Today, Cowin owns 98% of the company, with the other 2% held by some of his original investors and shareholders, he said. “The original $10,000 is $40 million in book value (today). So everyone got their money back, and those who stayed did better and better,” he said.

When asked what his sales secret is, he said: “I think the secret is, whatever you do, do it well…The people who lend me money really support me as an investment. I am the investment.”

“(My way of saying this) When you can’t tell the difference between work and play, you’ve come to the right place… I’ve never actually worked a day in my life because I enjoy it so much.

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