Wagamama's New Zealand franchises wound up — outflanked by cheap, authentic rivals

Wagamama, the UK-based Asian-fusion chain that introduced the format to New Zealand more than a decade earlier, shut its New Zealand stores and wound up its business there, its website announcing the exit with only the hope to 'one day be back on your shores'. Jersey Devil Ltd, trading as Wagamama New Lynn, was placed into liquidation at the end of February 2019 — the liquidator's first report saying turnover could not sustain costs at a business operating only since January 2017. Six Dice Ltd, trading as Wagamama North West, followed into liquidation the same month for the same reason.

The Herald understood three former Wagamama franchises had already rebranded as Mama's Noodle House with changed menus, though head office and its PR firm never responded to confirm it. Retail analyst Chris Wilkinson of First Retail Group pointed to the squeeze: the food cost more than other eateries, the sites were expensive prime real estate, and casual dining chains were struggling everywhere — Jamie's Italian had just gone into administration owing £71.5 million. Meanwhile New Zealand's growing Asian restaurant scene gave diners more authentic, cheaper choices.

Restaurant Association president Mike Egan, himself owner of Asian-fusion restaurant Monsoon Poon, went at the model itself: franchises don't work for Asian eateries because 'customers want the owner-operator type model... a McDonald's manual is 300 pages long, but for a full-service restaurant that's really hard because you have to be so flexible and hands on.' One diner's verdict was blunter: Wagamama 'does well in places where people don't really know much about Asian food' — and Auckland wasn't one of them.

Premium sites meant premium menu prices, and Wagamama's western take on Asian food cost more than the authentic options multiplying around it.

Consumer tastes had shifted in a decade: locals were now accustomed to authentic Asian cuisine the brand's positioning never delivered.

The franchise model itself was the wrong tool, Egan argued — full-service Asian restaurants need owner-operators, not a 300-page manual.

The casual-dining sector was failing worldwide, with Jamie's Italian's £71.5 million administration showing the chain model under strain.

Both franchisees hit the same wall within days: liquidators found turnover could not sustain costs at either Wagamama New Lynn or North West.

A chain concept travels badly on two fronts at once: premium high-street rents priced the food above local rivals, and a franchise manual cannot run a full-service Asian kitchen.

Wagamama exited New Zealand entirely in 2019, leaving the two liquidated franchise companies behind and three former sites rebranded under local ownership. The chain said it hoped to return 'one day' to the shores it had served for over a decade.