Burger King Franchises In The Philippines
Burger King is one of the strongest and most recognized international fast-food restaurant chains in the Philippines. It is currently undertaking a major transformation of its image and expansion of business in the country. On October 2006, Ayala Corporation has sold its Burger King franchise in the Philippines to BK Titans Inc., co-owned by Manuel V. Pangilinan of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., Bert Lina of Airfreight 2100, and Wilson Young of Tanduay Distillers, Inc. The change in ownership prompted the major makeover of its existing restaurants.
BK Titans plan to spend P1.5 billion for remodeling twenty one (21) outlets and adding fifty more restaurants. The company is currently looking for opportunities to establish upscale stores in other strategic areas such as airports, shopping malls, and expressways, in order to increase its market presence, To appeal to its 15 to 39-year-old target market, the BK management implemented a major revamp on its existing establishment and the offered value-added services to its clients. They decided to redecorate its restaurants and install LCD screens which show music videos of current hits. In select locations, they have also installed free wireless internet connection for its tech-savvy customers. Such move made Burger King the first fast-food chain to offer free internet access. The fast-food chain is also arranging a tie-up with Internet café chain Netopia to install several Internet cubicles for diners at a special rate. Also part of the reformation effort is the removal from its menu of its non-core products like spaghetti and the concentration on burger (in beef, chicken, or fish) and sandwich items to focus on their target market which are young adults and more mature customers. However, the special service offerings would differ from one branch to another depending on its market make up. At present, selected Burger King outlets offer extra services that have been making its customers come back on a regular basis. One such innovative and cleverly thought-out service is the installation of cell phone charging stations offering free charging for its patrons. The station provides charger for Nokia, Sony-Ericsson and Samsung phones. In line with its expansion program, Burger King plans to establish more branches in several strategic places in Metro Manila, all of which would be company-owned. They also plan to eventually penetrate the provinces in the near future, too. They have no plans of going into local franchising yet, though. US-based Burger King operates more than 11,000 restaurants in over 65 countries and US territories, almost 90% of which are owned and operated by independent franchisees. It is the second largest hamburger restaurant chain in the world. In the Philippines, it is facing a tough competition with the leading homegrown brand, Jollibee and the world's largest brand, Mc Donald's. With its general make-over and innovation, they have a good fighting chance to succeed. |