Admit it: you’ve probably heard the phrase “Flame-grilled burger” from your squad that surely made them drool!
Every person who loves burger knows how juicy and tasty Burger King’s products are. Not to mention that the patties are not flattened out, plus they’re grilled to the ultimate perfection for every customer’s taste buds!
Burger King was established back in 1953 in Jacksonville, Florida, and had the name Insta-Burger King. The early name had the word “Insta” because the fast food chain used equipment called Insta-broiler when they opened their first stores. The fast food chain was built by Keith Kramer, together with his wife’s uncle named Matthew Burn.
Unfortunately, the company began to weaken in 1959 and was later on purchased by the early franchisers, James McLamore and David R. Edgerton. The two had formulated strategies and techniques to revive the fast food chain, removing the word “Insta” on its brand name as its first step. The men managed the company themselves, which later on led to the success of Burger King. Eventually, the store expanded to over 250 locations in the United States, after selling it to the Pillsbury Company in 1967.
During the late 70s to early 80s, Pillsbury already had several tries in restructuring Burger King. Their efforts have finally succeeded when they hired Donald Smith to help reorganize the chain, who was the executive at McDonald’s. Smith caused the change in almost every aspect of the company which includes the broadening of the menu, new optimization to the stores, updated franchising agreements, and more. These attempts were mostly effective, but there is also quite a handful that was rejected which even caused Burger King to fall into a slump.
In addition, some of it also damaged the performance of Burger King due to poor operating performance and ineffective leadership.
Again, Burger King switched its management in 1989, and fell into the hands of the British entertainment conglomerate Grand Metropolitan and its successor Diageo. However, Diageo decided to put the company up for sale few years later in 2000.
For the nth time, Burger King was sold to a group of investment firms. The new owners made their attempts as well to revamp the company which succeeded in 2006. The changes made were new ad campaigns from a new advertising agency, restructured menu, new programs and a new concept called BK Whopper Bar.
Sadly, a financial crisis occurred in 2007-2010, causing Burger King’s financial outlooks to weaken. The firms couldn’t turn the tables around and later on sold the company as well to 3G Capital, who has finally changed the fortune of the fast food chain, owns the company up to this day. Burger King has increased its stores since then and even had international branches over the past years.
In the present, Burger King has established a good reputation to its customers as a fast food that provides high quality burgers with an affordable price. Not to mention that the burgers appear exactly like how it was pictured in the ads. The burgers are also freshly grilled each time to ensure that the customers will be able to indulge in a savoury patty.
Burger King’s bestseller is the Whopper, which is also available on a smaller size. Whopper was born back in 1957, and was served with the special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles and tomato. Up to this day, the Whopper remained as a crowd-favourite. In addition, there are also a lot of hamburgers, beef burgers, and cheeseburgers to choose from.
To be able to become a franchisee of Burger King, there are six processes to be followed.
The first step is to undergo the pre-qualification process, which requires the interested franchisee to answer the pre-qualification questionnaire online. Even though not all franchisee passes the initial process, there is still a high chance of passing. If the franchisee succeeds in this step, they will be allowed to communicate with a franchising representative, who will conduct the interview.
After passing the application, a package will be sent through email and the franchisee shall submit documents such as:
- Completed Franchise Application and Personal Financial Statement (PFS)
- CPA Opinion Letter to validate PFS
- Review Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) and submit signed receipt
- Updated Resume
- $250 Application Fee
To become a franchisee, an individual must have $1.5M net worth, and total liquid assets of $500,000. The franchising fee is $50,000, which is payable before the restaurant opening. Also, there is a royalty fee to be paid amounting to 4.5% of the business’ gross sales.
During the interview, the submitted documents will be validated and reviewed, and will be assessed if the franchisee has business experiences.
Next step is the transaction selection, wherein the appropriate acquisition opportunities will be determined.
The third process is the operations interview. During this step, the franchising candidate will be interviewed by the respective Division Vice President. The interested franchisee will submit their own formulated business plans and shall identify the training requirements.
The capitalization plan will be discussed, and the financial conditions will be reviewed on the fourth step – the Transaction Approval.
And finally, the last step is the Final Approval – which is the mark for starting the Burger King branch.
Given the fact that Burger King has successfully established their reputation from its experiences for more than 60 years, a world-class support system has been established, having a whole group of experts who are always available to support. The team consists of knowledgeable professionals such as the Directors of Franchise Performance, Sales, Profits and Operations Coach, Real Estate Manager, Construction and Design Manager, Purchasing and Supply Chain Management.
However, the downfall upon franchising from Burger King is the fact that it requires big capitalization, good background and exclusive franchise rights for Philippine territory.
Contact Details
Website: www.jollibee.com.ph
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/burgerkingph or @burgerkingph
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