Kiwi company, the Mad Butcher has opened its 40th franchise store this week in Stoke, Nelson.
The Mad Butcher is part of the Veritas Investments portfolio after it acquired the company for $40 million in May last year. Mad Butcher chief executive and Veritas director Michael Morton said it had taken about a year and a half to decide on the site in the Nelson suburb of Stoke.
"It's a prosperous area with a good size population and the competition is mainly from supermarkets so we see an opportunity to successfully carve out our niche in the area," Morton said. "If the first weekend is any guide, this will be a very successful store."
The Nelson store is part of the franchised Mad Butcher stores owned by former professional rugby player and butcher, Daniel Perrin.
Perrin had worked for the Riccarton Mad Butcher in 1995 before moving into a sporting career, playing for the Chiefs and the Crusaders. In 1998, Perrin approached the Mad Butcher to set up a franchise for the brand, with his first store opening in Whangarei later that year.
