Burger King Case
Burger King Beefs Up Global Operation 1. By mid-2009, Burger King was not in any of the following five countries: France, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, and South Africa. Compare these countries as possible future locations for Burger King. To me the first preference will go to the countries that have good amount of Non-Vegetable consumption in it.
As Burger King is known for its Non-Vegetable products e. g. Beef and Hamburger and other beef products. Which can be famous in all the countries whose people consumes the beef and Non-Vegetable products most.
In addition, where there is a good amount of youth too. France, Pakistan, and South Africa will be the good and vast market for any country to Penetrate into it and get their business going well and expand their business as well as Get the best returns on it.
As these are the countries with the large population and with big population of youth to who consumes junk food the most. In India, they will have lesser chance to grow their business although there is a vast market for any company cannot resist getting in to it.
However, Burger King is Knows for the Non-Vegetable product and India’s most of the population consumes Vegetable products more. Therefore, in India, there will be a large market but lesser chances to expand their business and getting successful; they cannot get the success in India without changing their uniqueness. Nigeria is not a large and vast market to get into as they have a smaller population and lesser ratio of youth people.
Therefore, According to me Burger king should go ahead with this three big potential and large market to expand their business there. . When entering another country, discuss the advantages and disadvantages that an international restaurant company, specifically Burger King, would have in comparison with a local company in that market. Burger King is second in the fast food hamburger restaurant segment/ market. Burger King plans to increase the number of net operating units by 3 to 4 percent per year in the near future, with most of that increase coming in international operations.
Two major ways in which Burger King differentiates itself from competitors are the way it cooks hamburgers— by its flame- broiled method as opposed to grills that fry— and the options it offers customers as to how they want their burgers.
This latter distinction has been popularized with the “have it your way” theme. 3. About two-thirds of Burger King’s restaurants and revenues are in it American region (Unites States and Canada) and one-third elsewhere. Should this relationship change? If so, why and how? I feel that this relationship should remain the same.
It seems to be working for them and as the old saying goes, if it is not broken do not fix it.
4. The case mentions that Burger King prefers to enter countries with large numbers of youth and shopping centers. Why do you think these conditions would be advantageous? Most fast food businesses prime target market is children and teenagers for the simple fact that they are the ones who prefer eating more fast food. In today’s society, it is more convenient at times just to run to your local burger joint and pick up a sandwich rather than spend time in the kitchen.
Further, today’s family is more active and has more activities to do so hitting up your local fast food chain makes it easier. Teenagers everywhere hang out at the malls and shopping centers so having your fast food business in this location is a prime location.
5. How has Burger King’s headquarters location influenced its international expansion? Has this location strengthened or weakened its global competitive position? Burger King remains headquartered in Miami, which is often called the capital of Latin America.
Because so many people from Latin America and the Caribbean come to or through Miami, Burger King’s reputation spilled over to that area early on. This simplified gaining brand recognition and acceptance. Further, the nearness of the Latin American and Caribbean countries to Miami enhances the ability of Burger King’s management to visit these countries and for franchisees to visit Burger King’s headquarters.
6. Evaluate Burger King’s strategy of using the Brazilian experience to guide its entries into Russia. This strategy can be summarized in five parts: develop an infrastructure before putting in restaurants ·develop a local management team ·focus development on major cities and adjacent geographies with established shopping mall location, prevalent in Brazil’s largest cities, instead of the whole country ·establish a local office ·support continuous development and the use of local suppliers that meet Burger King’s global specifications For smaller markets or those where all the restaurants are franchised, Burger King does not set up a regional restaurant support center or local headquarters.
However, management deemed a Brazilian office necessary because of Brazil’s size (in both area and population), its language barrier (Portuguese), and the magnitude of investment that suppliers and franchisees would eventually need to make. At first, the office served to demonstrate the company’s market commitment and to handle early supply- chain procurement and management.
Finally, by building a staff of Portuguese- speaking Brazilians, the company showed its commitment to the country and developed a competency to deal with external stakeholders.
