How Taste Holdings choked on its fast-food empire
South Africans love fast food. So how did Taste Holdings, the ballsy upstart that snared two of the world’s best-known food brands — Domino’s Pizza and Starbucks coffee — get itself into such a mess?
Parachuted in by his old school chum — SA’s wannabe Warren Buffett, Sean Riskowitz — Tyrone Moodley was never an obvious choice as the man to lead Taste Holdings out of the financial swamp in which it finds itself. The appointment of Moodley (32), whose only experience in the working world has been at investment firms like Sasfin and various Riskowitz-related outfits including Conduit Capital, Constantia Insurance and Protea Asset management, wasn’t exactly the deliverance that Taste’s shareholders may have hoped for after the abrupt exit of founder Carlo Gonzaga in February. Gonzaga’s ignominious departure followed a failed rights offer and mounting financial losses. Moodley, Gonzaga and Riskowitz declined to be interviewed for this article. But Taste’s future hinges on whether its inexperienced CEO can convince the world’s second-most valuable food brand, Starbucks, to stick with the once-promising fast-food firm, its exclusive franchise partner in SA. That goes for Domino’s too. ...
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