Jack Quinn, Founder and Chairman of Competitive Foods Australia.
Courtesy of Jack Quinn
When Jack Quinn was a child, he shoveled snow, delivered newspapers, and sold Christmas cards for cash. By the time he reached his twenties, he was eating burgers instead of cards. Fast forward to today: the 82-year-old is a billionaire, thanks to his fast food empire.
Quinn is the founder and chairman of Competitive Foods Australia, the company that operates Burger King as “Hungry Jack's” in Australia. He is also the largest shareholder in Domino's Pizza In Australia, a company supports plant-based meat alternatives called v2food.
Before founding Hungry Jack's, Quinn opened KFC in Australia in 1969, his first of many restaurants. Then in 2013, he sold the 55-store KFC franchise in a deal worth about $71 million, according to a Competitive Foods Australia representative.
Today, his business is worth more than $3 billion and generates more than $300 million annually, Quinn said CNBC Make it.
Adventurous child
While growing up in Canada, Quinn realized early on that he wanted freedom in life. His father was an employee of the Ford Motor Company and was required to travel frequently for work.
When I was a kid, I wanted to have the freedom to do what I wanted to do. I think I saw that relatively early on, because (I saw that) my dad was walking on the treadmill here, there, and everywhere.
Jack Quinn
Founder and Chairman of Competitive Foods Australia
“He made a phone call one day, saying you're going to go to Brazil, or you're going to go to Mexico, or things like that… When you work for a big company, the company decides where you're going to be, (and) what you're going to do,” Quinn said.
“And when I was a kid, I wanted to have the freedom to do what I wanted to do. I think I saw that relatively early, because (I saw) my father in circles here, there and everywhere,” he said. He did not want to be under the “whims and temptations of the company.”
So, as a child, Quinn spent his time outside of school mowing lawns and delivering newspapers. “I never had to ask for money as a kid,” he said. “I've been a sales guy since very early, like 8 or 10 years old.”
By the time he started college, Quinn was going from farm to farm selling “trees, shrubs and nursery stock,” he said. He said that he was so successful at it that he was earning $8,000 a year while his professors at the university were earning only $5,000 a year.
He graduated with a bachelor's degree from the University of Western Ontario in 1964, and went on to get a job selling life insurance, which he said he was very good at.
“I had a reputation as someone who could sell,” he said.
Hit the gold at the bottom
By the late 1960s, Quinn was beginning to settle in Canada with his wife and first child when one day he received a phone call from two of his high school friends.
His friends got a job with the American company KFC and were sent to Australia to do some market research on whether they should expand into the country.
At that stage of the game, the restaurant business in Australia was fish and chip shops, Chinese restaurants and upscale white tablecloth restaurants.
Jack Quinn
Founder and Chairman of Competitive Foods Australia
“Since my father was there (for work), and I was the only guy… who knew where Australia was on the map… they phoned me and said: 'You should be here.' You should come and see this. “So without warning, I'm on a plane and flying to Australia,” Quinn said.
Quinn arrived in Australia in February 1969, spent three weeks there helping his friends conduct research, and eventually discovered that there was indeed a market for… Fast food In Australia.
Jack Quinn has more than 380 Hungry Jack's locations as of 2024, according to a company representative.
soba pictures | Rocket Lite | Getty Images
“At that stage of the game, the restaurant business in Australia was fish and chip shops, Chinese restaurants and fancy white tablecloth restaurants,” he said. Meanwhile, McDonald's, Burger King, KFC and others Fast food Restaurants have risen in popularity in North America.
“So at the end of the three weeks, I pay $1,000 as a deposit on the KFC franchise (and) if the American company will open a store, I will get the 10-store franchise,” he said. .
His “biggest break” in life
Six months later, he received a phone call that American KFC had agreed to expand into Australia and Quinn had the opportunity to own his first franchise location. But he didn't have the money, so he started raising money.
The biggest opportunity I ever had in my life was… I rode my bike and asked 30 Canadians to lend me $10,000 each, so I got $300,000.
Jack Quinn
Founder and Chairman of Competitive Foods Australia
Imagine this “kid comes into your office and says he wants to borrow $10,000, which is probably about $100,000 today or more… He has no work experience, no interest on your money… How long before you fire him?” From your office to waste your time?”
He said, “The biggest opportunity I ever got in my life was… I rode my bike and asked 30 Canadians to lend me $10,000 each, and I got $300,000.” “Otherwise I would still be shoveling snow in Canada. I didn't have the financial resources at that time.”
By December 1969, Quinn moved his family to Perth, Australia, where he opened the first KFC franchise. “It was like drilling for oil and getting oil from the first random well, because it was such a booming success,” he said.
“Then, you open two more businesses, you get into the hamburger business, you get into the pizza business, you get into the food manufacturing business, and today, that business is worth $3 billion and does $300 million a year.”
Today, Quinn owns 98% of his company, while some original investors and shareholders own the other 2%, he said. “The original $10,000 is $40 million in book value (today). So everyone got their money back, and those who stayed home did increasingly well,” he said.
When asked about his secret to sales, he said: “I think the secret is that whatever you do, do it well… The people who lent me money really supported me as an investment. I was the investment.”
“The expression (I have is) when you can't tell the difference between work and play, you're in the right place… I've never worked a day in my life because I enjoyed it.
Correction: This story has been updated to clarify that Jack Quinn opened a KFC store in Australia in 1969.
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