His Living in America - Same Name, Different Store

Burger King is called Hungry Jacks in Australia. Source

        I have become familiar with American stores and brands after living here for almost 12 years. It wasn't until our recent trip to Australia that I remembered that there are quite a few stores in Australia that shared names with companies in America. Some of them are international locations of the American company, like McDonald's, Burger King and KFC, but others have no connection to the American company or even sell the same type of product. Below is just some of the stores that share a name but are different stores.

Lowe's:

Lowes in Australia is a menswear store.

Although Australia and America both have stores named Lowes, they only thing they share is the name.
In America, Lowes is one of the largest hardware and home improvement warehouse stores (similar to Bunnings in Australia). They sell everything you need for home improvement from nails, to lumber, and even the kitchen sink. www.lowes.com
       In Australia, Lowes is a menswear stores that sells all types of men's clothing from casual wear to formal wear. There is no American equivalent as most clothing stores in America are either formal wear, or casual wear. www.lowes.com.au

Wendy's:

Wendy's in Australia sells dairy treats not hamburgers. Source

 Wendy's, like Lowe's, share a name in both countries but sell entirely different product and have no connection except for the name.
  In America, Wendy's is one of the most popular fast food restaurant chains (similar to McDonalds in Australia). They sell hamburgers, chicken sandwiches and other tasty treats including their signature dessert, the Frosty. www.wendys.com
   In Australia, Wendy's is a store that sells mostly frozen dairy treats including milkshakes, icecream and soft serve cones. They also sell hot dogs to complement the sweet treats. Wendy's are usually located in malls and not a stand alone store. The closest equivalent to Wendy's in America is Dairy Queen. www.wendys.com.au


Other stores:
There are other stores that have similar sounding names or have similar logos.

Coles is one of the major supermarket chains in Australia. Source

Coles/Kohls:
Although spelled differently these two companies' names sound the same.
Kohls is a department store chain that has over 1000 stores in America in every state in America. Kohl's actually started out as a grocery store but changed its business model to a department store as it was more profitable. www.kohls.com
Coles is one of Australia's largest supermarket chains and have stores in most towns and cities across the country. www.coles.com.au

A Kmart Tyre and Auto center - Source

Target/Kmart:
Australia has Target and Kmart stores but the only thing they share with their American counterpart is their name and logo. The interior of the stores are very similar in both countries as they use the same types of signage.
In America, Kmart and Target are owned by two separate companies. They both sell retail goods and are direct competitors.
www.target.com    www.kmart.com
 In Australia, Target and Kmart are both owned by the same company. They, like their American counterparts, are discount department stores. Kmart Australia also has tire and auto centers attached or located nearby their stores, similar to Walmart in America. 
www.target.com.au    www.kmart.com.au

Same burgers, just a different name for the store - Source

Burger King/Hungry Jacks:
Burger King and Hungry Jacks are essentially the same as they sell the same products, call their signature burgers "Whoppers" and their restuarants even look similar. So why is Burger King called Hungry Jacks in Australia? Back in 1970 Jack Cowin, who had already brought KFC to Australia wanted to open Burger King stores in Australia. He was not able to call it Burger King as that name had already been trademarked by a takeaway store in Adelaide so the name "Hungry Jacks" was chosen instead. 

     I got confused when I first visited America when names like Wendy's and Lowes were mentioned and now you can see why. Has anything similar ever happened to you on your trips abroad?