Famous Brands has closed 96 stores in South Africa in the past year, its CEO Darren Hele told Business Times.

The report stated that 76 of the closures affected the company’s main brands – including Wimpy.

Famous Brands operates many well-known restaurants, including Debonairs Pizza, Steers, Tashas, Mugg and Bean, and Vovo Telo.

The remaining 20 closures affected its “niche brands”, including Vovo Telo and Bread Basket, stated the report.

Famous Brands also closed 24 stores in its Africa and Middle East operations.

The report stated that Wimpy now stands at 478 stores in South Africa, and that the closures were partly a result of the brand being 50 years old.

“There are always going to be some elements of closure, especially in South Africa, where the demographics change,” Hele told Business Times.

Certain sites have been there for 40 years, “so if you went to downtown Johannesburg, that’s not Wimpy’s heartland any more”, he said.

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