Analysis of the Burger King restaurant concept provides readers with unique data and insight into this leading brand.
Burger King is in a transition period as it seeks to find its way with the current economic realities. This reflects that its historic core customer base (young males) are suffering from disproportionately high unemployment rates which necessitates a new approach for a brand that used big sandwiches and irreverent marketing to appeal to these traditional QSR heavy users. The brand’s first reaction to the new economic reality was a greater emphasis on value – a tactic which helped stem traffic losses, but at a cost to margins. Now the brand is repositioning its marketing approach (incorporating a broader demographic target) and stressing a barbell menu approach to offset value with margin rich premium menu items. Further, the chain is seeking to catch-up in breakfast now that it has become apparent that consumers are substituting morning trips to QSR in place of lunch and dinner. From an operational standpoint, the system is strengthening quality but from a low starting point while system facilities are being reimaged (but at a very slow pace). Net/net, we believe the third largest QSR player by system sales is tweaking in the right direction although we suspect more time is required to fully reposition.
