Michael Heyne: Controlling as a key instrument in the restaurant market

43rd Controller Congress, April 23, 2018

11.00

Controlling as a key instrument in the restaurant market

  • The basic idea: kebab in the USA
  • The history of Noon
  • Main challenge of communication:
    • External: Development of KPIs, number of restaurants vs. profitability; transparency
    • Internal: limitation and prioritization of information; focus on the user perspective
  • Conclusion

Michael Heyne

Founder and Co-CEO, Marketing, Operations
Noon Mediterranean, Inc.
New York City
USA    

On the first day of the ICV Controller Congress 2018 speaks Michael Heye - a young man with an exciting CV. As part of his studies at WHU, he and his fellow student Dominik Stein spent a semester abroad at the University of Texas in Dallas. And what do hungry German students notice in 2008 immediately? There is no good kebab in Dallas - and if you look closely, neither in the rest of the USA. The idea was born: a restaurant chain called "Verts Mediterranean Grill" (for the vertical kebab skewer) was founded directly after their graduation in 2011.

They are chic, modern and inviting - each of the restaurants, every one about 150 square meters. In addition to the classic kebab - but instead of lamb meat – chicken, you will find other Mediterranean dishes such as falafel, salads, wraps, kofte, vegetables. The concept works. Today, Noon Mediterranean (the new name) employs 450 people in 20 stores and generates $18 million in sales.

The magazine "Gründerszene" conducted in the summer an exciting interview with Michael Heyne, the speaker at Controller Congress 2018, and his partner Dominik Stein. Read it here (in German, link: https://www.gruenderszene.de/allgemein/weg-vom-doener-warum-diese-gruender-ihre-strategie-fuer-den-us-markt-aendern) – with kind permission of the “Gründerszene” author Anne-Katrin Schade!