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Conquering Southeast Asia, One Big Carl at a Time

by Jason Best, Posted Jun 2nd 2010 @ 4:00PM

Photo: Robert Banh, Flickr

Just on the heels of the 35th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, here comes more evidence that the domino theory was bunk (or, at least, that the dominoes fall easier in the other direction): Carl's Jr. has just opened its first outpost in Vietnam -- in Ho Chi Minh City to boot.

Although KFC and Pizza Hut have already successfully invaded territory formerly held by the Vietcong, this marks the first arrival of a U.S.-based burger joint, according to Carl's Jr. parent company, CKE Restaurants.

"We are happy to introduce real American-style charbroiled burgers to the [Vietnamese] market," said CKE CEO Andrew Puzder.

Where once the image of the red star marching across southeast Asia had foreign policy strategists trembling, today there's another star on the march, only this one has a smiley face. Carl's Jr. says that it is "actively seeking new franchisees" throughout the region. It already has restaurants in China, Singapore, Malaysia, and American Samoa, and the company has a "strategic development plan" to double its international presence over the next five years, including at least 24 more restaurants in Vietnam and 25 restaurants in Indonesia, starting with its first in Jakarta later this year.

Take that, pinkos!

Filed Under: Fast Food
Tags: carls jr, cke restaurants, fast food, kfc, vietnam