It was hailed as an Australian fast food success story, but now the Pie Face Group is in the hands of voluntary administrators.
The high costs of company run stores and an aggressive expansion overseas are being cited as reasons for the collapse of the group.
While the administrators conduct a review of operations, there are other rumblings from former franchisees angry at what they say were “unrealistic forecasts” used to lure them into the business.
The collapse of the company behind the pies has left investors wiping the trademark smile off their pies as well as their faces.
Some of the big names include US casino mogul Steve Wynn who put $15 million into the business expanding into America just a few years ago.
I was working 12 hours a day … keeping control of every little thing, of ordering, of staffing, and everything to keep our costs down and it couldn’t work.
So big were the plans, Manhattan in New York City was to get 16 stores. Seven ended up opening, six were closed last month.
But Pie Face is still on track to open in Abu Dhabi and Dubai this week and a couple more stores in the Middle East are due before Christmas.
Administrators Jirsch Sutherland are reviewing all operations but in a statement said international…