Recognise these? (Picture: Shutterstock)
Trying to find your local Burger King abroad? You might be searching for the wrong thing.
We Brits are so used to the same old shops on the UK high street, we probably haven’t considered they might be called something else entirely in other countries.
It’s only when you travel, and walk into a store that feels very familiar, that you realise they’re one and the same.
Some beloved brands in the UK, like the aforementioned Burger King, or TK Maxx do thankfully still exist in other destinations, flogging the same stuff.
But due to legal, logistical and other not very sexy reasons, they have different monikers overseas.
So next time you’re heading abroad, look out for these names if you’re after some home comforts.
Burger King UK or Hungry Jack’s in Australia
Looks weird doesn’t it? (Picture: Shutterstock / doublelee)
When Burger King tried to expand into Australia, they discovered that the name was already trademarked by a local restaurant in Adelaide, South Australia.
Burger King provided the Australian franchisee, Jack Cowin, a list of possible alternative names, one of which was Hungry Jack’s.
The name was taken from Hungry Jack, a pancake mixture product, owned by Burger King’s corporate parent, Pillsbury. Jack Cowin felt that was most fitting, as it was still related to Burger King in some way, and simply added an apostrophe ‘s’.
We bet the fact his name was also Jack went into his decision making…
TK Maxx or TJ Maxx in the USA
You might be used to this one (Picture: Getty)
This is one of the more famous examples and is easy to spot, as the brand logo and colours are all exactly the same, just one letter short.
TJ Maxx is actually the correct one (sorry, Brits) as it was founded in Massachusetts, United States, by Bernard Cammarata.
The first international store opened in Bristol, UK, in 1994 but had to use a new name, as there was already an unrelated British retail chain, known as T.J Hughes.
The company had to modify the name to TK Maxx to avoid confusion with the unrelated British retail chain TJ Hughes.
Primark or Pennys in Ireland
Primark originated in Ireland as Penney (Picture: PA)
This is another example of a brand that had a different name at origin.
The Irish clothing retailer Primark is called Penneys in Ireland, because the company was originally founded as Penneys in Dublin in 1969.
When the company expanded into the UK in 1974, it changed its name to Primark to avoid legal action by the American retailer J.C. Penney, who had the rights to use the name in the UK.
The Irish have continued to use the Penneys name in Ireland.
Pizza Express or Milano in Ireland
Uncanny (Picture: Alamy Stock Photo)
Peter Boizot opened the first Pizza Express in Soho, London in 1965, revolutionising the UK restaurant scene by introducing casual dining to the high street.
The story goes that Pizza Express is called Milano in Ireland because, the first site in Ireland arrived in 1995 on Dawson Street, the same street that Lord …read more
Source:: Metro
