MextheNOV/DEC

2013

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Message from THE

Head HonchoHola,Welcome to our re-vamped “the Mex” newsletter. This will be coming out 6 times a year and will be your one stop shop for all things Operations, Marketing and Product.

NOV/DEC

Looking back on the past 6 months, I am very proud of what our team and our network has achieved. We’ve been jammed packed with new store openings, big marketing events and of course our very first national conference.

This half (July - December) we have broken our record and opened 8 new stores, more than any other half in our short history. 7 of these were partner stores and 1 was opened as a company stores. We are now at a whopping 49 stores, and looks like we will open our 50th store in March next year. We are well on the way to becoming the biggest and most loved Mexican experience in Australia.

It has been a challenging 6 months in the retail sector, particularly in our food court stores. Despite this challenging environment, you have all been doing an amazing job with our customers. Mystery shoppers have been increasing, and customer complaints have been decreasing, all resulting in a consistent upward trend in transaction comps nationally since June. Keep focusing on creating moments that give our customers true food pleasure and our transactions will continue on this upward trend.

We finished off the year with our 2nd PAT meeting. I was very pleased to hear that we had listened to your feedback and taken key actions to improve parts of our business. Your PAT reps will have shared the last meetings minutes, and I thank you all again for your valuable feedback.

New uniforms and packing trials have commenced and I must say they look fantastic! I cannot wait to announce that the trial has been successful and we roll them out to the network.

See you in stores over the next couple of months.

Jake Spencer.

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ProductTrials

PACKAGING CONCEPTS :: CONCEPT 1

mock up >packaging for instore Bean Tin and napkin stamp

Napkin Stamp Salsa’s PMS 426 print

Black Beans Tin Sticker(for instore VM)

26.09.13

UNIFORMS :: FAST CASUAL

white embroidered logo, top left seam on gingham worn with denim jeans

red gingham button up with rolled up sleeves

mock up >packaging concept 2

bottom tray is same as concept1

PACKAGING CONCEPTS :: CONCEPT 1

NOV/DEC 2013

mock up >packaging

Small and large paper bags

PACKAGING CONCEPTS :: CONCEPT 1

UNIFORMS :: FOOD COURT

26.09.13

black crew neck tee’s with PMS 413 print

a) Salsa’s PMS 413 matt plastisol print

b) Salsa’s PMS 413 matt plastisol print

Salsa’s PMS 413 matt plastisol logo on top left seam

PACKAGING CONCEPTS :: CONCEPT 1

mock up >packaging for instore Bean Tin and napkin stamp

Napkin Stamp Salsa’s PMS 426 print

Black Beans Tin Sticker(for instore VM)

mock up >packaging concept 2

bottom tray is same as concept1

PACKAGING CONCEPTS :: CONCEPT 1

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With the weather getting warmer and shopping centres and strips getting busier our next promotion is about making things easy for our customers. For the month of December we will promote one of our best selling menu items, the Chicken Fajita Burrito! By keeping the promotion product focused it also means that things run smoothly in store during your busiest time of year.

Dec – Chicken Fajita MealStarts 29 November 2013Ends 5 January 2014

National Promotions

NOV/DEC 2013

Jan – Under 500 Calorie BurritosStarts 6 January 2014Ends 2 February 2014Most of us over indulge over the Christmas break and start the New Year with a desire to get back into shape. With this in mind we have created two new under 500 calorie burritos to offer our customers during January.

Feb – Mexican Summer SaladStarts 3 February 2014Ends 2 March 2014Stay tuned for more info in early 2014!

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Mex Club Top 10 stores with the most Mex Club members to date are:Marion 5,547Chadstone 4,143Fountain Gate 4,095Knox City 3,770Eastland 3,594Rundle Place 3,380Doncaster 3,361Liverpool 3,250Galleria 3,193Southland 2,842

Total members signed up to Mex Club:

83,268

Don’t forget! Promoting Mex Club Membership at your store ensures the growth of your own database which will in turn increase the success and power of your offers.

NOV/DEC 2013

5 mins with…Dima Bensky - National Operations Manager

Tell us about your current role in Salsa’s?To lead & support partner, company and store teams in growing sales, profits and improving operations. Our team goal is to create the best Mexican experience in Oz!

What did you do before Salsa’s?I initially started as a kitchen hand in Red Rooster, spent a few years as a Boostie and most recently worked with Domino’s Pizza-leading their VIC, SA & TAS teams.

How do you get your kicks outside work?Jog. An occasional game of soccer with mates, and play with my 15 month boy (who has recently perfected the art of getting around baby proofed cupboards).

What is your all time favourite song?When running something fast paced such as Ministry of Sound album, at home Play School-All Time Favorite Hits (or the Russian equivalent).

What’s your favourite Salsa’s meal?Chicken & Veg burrito with a side of mexi crinkles & Lime / Chilli sauce … yum!

What is the best thing about working at Salsa’s?Working with the passionate people at the stores, Retail Zoo and testing the guac to make sure it’s just right.

..and the worst?On occasion the competitive food environment (would love to have it all to yourself) but it ultimately makes us deliver better service /product to our customers.

What would your final meal be?Medium-Rare, grass fed steak with mash, green beans, side of mustard and a glass of Aussie Cab Sav.

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In The Media

As part of our New Life Starter campaign we took over some of the most well known outdoor advertising sites around Melbourne including Bridge Rd and Flinders Street.

NOV/DEC 2013

The X Factor finalist Jai Waetford was spotted enjoying some Salsa’s at the Jam Factory, VIC.

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The greatThank u so much Salsa’s u r my favourite food store in the whole entire world! U have the best and yummiest burritos and tacos. The only problem is that your closest store to me is a 45 min drive!!! So I don’t get to eat from salsas much :( If you were to open a store closer to my house i would be so happy!!!!

Just wanted to send a quick note to say how much I (we, hubby and I) LOVE your food!

I am currently five months pregnant and seem to have a very soft spot for Salsas...the Habanero Hombre in particular! I could literally eat one every day, twice a day! Ok, let’s be honest, we had a soft spot for Salsas before the pregnancy but now there’s no better excuse to HAVE to eat it!

We have always found your food fresh and delicious and have never encountered a grumpy customer service agent...kudos to your teams and congratulations on a job well done!

The not so greatJust had one of my worst ever fast food experiences at Salsa’s. The hard taco was shattered almost beyond belief when I opened the bag at our table just 10 steps away from the counter. The soft one was so tiny that it was barely 2 mouthful and the chips were cold! I believe that my first ever Salsa’s experience and may be my last!

For starters I love Salsas - this was the first time I was really disappointed with my meal and unfortunately it was the first time my partner and sister had an

experience with salsas.

We ordered and it took approx 15-20 min for our meals to come out (we were on our way to the movies and thought it would be a nice quick meal) and we saw others meals come out before ours did who ordered after us.

The Burritos were too full of rice and had really thick pieces of onion in them with hardly any chicken. And the chips were cold and clearly old (not freshly cooked). I had the same burrito last week i think and i had really enjoyed it. It was not a great experience - the food was really ordinary and it was particularly unimpressive as we had spent close to $50 for it.

Customer Chatter

NOV/DEC 2013

Theme DaysOn 1 & 2 November we asked you to decorate your stores (and yourselves) to celebrate Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead). Whilst Robina won the grand prize of $1000 we had to share more photos of your amazing effort several of our others stores went too – check out the pics below!

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New Life Starter Promotion During November Salsa’s & Mix FM ran a HUGE promotion to win the Salsa’s Bridge Rd store in Victoria. The promotion saw Salsa’s take over Mix FM radio station with advertising spots and entrant call outs happening every single day.

As part of the promotion it was essential we ran all the competition entrants through a 2 day “Salsa’s camp” that would help us select a top 10 who were most suited to win (and successfully run) our Bridge Rd store.

We kicked the day off with over 100 hopefuls and their partners who were put through their paces completing activities like giant jenga, and making a Salsa’s TV commercial – all

Eventsthe while we had our Salsa’s team assessing them to see if they would fit the Salsa’s brand.

After eliminating down to a top 20, each entrant was able to have a 1 on 1 “speed interview” with various departments. After a grueling few hours of interviews our top 10 was announced!

The top 10 returned the next day for individual 45 minute interviews with an esteemed panel of interviewers.

The week following the camp saw our three finalist announced on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday live on Mix 101. Our final 3 then joined the Mix 101 breakfast team (Chrissy & Jane) at our Bridge Rd store on Friday 29 November, where the entire breakfast show was broadcast LIVE along with free food, salsa dancers and more!

Finally our lucky winners Kylie & Scott were announced and given the keys to Salsa’s Bridge Rd. Kylie and Scott are looking forward to their new life start at Salsa’s and will officially take over the store in early 2014.

NOV/DEC 2013

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Free Burrito Day @ Bridge RdTo celebrate New Life Starter we gave away FREE BURRITOS at Salsa’s Bridge Rd Richmond on 21st November from 11.30am – 8.00pm. Over 2000 burritos we’re given away to very happy amigos!

NOV/DEC 2013

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National Conference On 29 & 30 of October the National Salsa’s Conference took place at the beautiful Peppers Resort in Daylesford, VIC. All partners and head office staff were on hand to participate in everything from salsas dancing, group activities and lots of eating! The conference finished off with a delicious gala dinner and awards ceremony.

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NOV/DEC 2013