BURGER KING

Burger King Expansion Plan for Pakistan

Burger King Expansion Plan for Pakistan

Introduction

Burger King is a US based fast food chain, which is operating in the global market, as well. The company was established in 1953 in Florida, United States. It was initially running the business with the name of Insta-Burger King. However, after going through the financial crisis, the company was bought over by David Edgerton and James Mclamore, the company was renamed as Burger King. Since then, it is enjoying significant success in domestic as well as international market. During the course of time, however, the ownership changed hands several times (Lacorte, n.d). At the moment, the major shareholder of the company is Brazilian based company; 3G Capital. The new owner is trying to restructure the company, with also looking to expand in various untapped international markets.

The total number of restaurants currently operating is around 12,000 all across the globe. Its existence is in 73 countries, with its major influence from the European region, after that of US (Os and Steinweg, 2008). The product range of Burger King typically includes its range of Burgers; Flame-Grilled, Chicken, Fish, Veggie etc. Then the sub category of the product range also includes Breakfast, Sides, Kids menu, Desserts, and Salads (bk.com, 2012). The company is also the first fast food restaurant to introduce the concepts of dine-in and drive-through fast food services.

Impact of Culture on Burger King

The culture in Pakistan is entirely different from that of culture in United Kingdom. In UK, where individualism is largely followed, on the other hand, people in Pakistan are more of a collectivism mind set. Pakistanis go for outing with their family or even with friends. The decision for selection of place, food, timings etc is done on a collective basis. Burger King needs to consider this factor before designing their marketing and advertising strategy.

People, here in Pakistan, are also very much price conscious. They usually select the place where they can get more value for the money they have spent (Jones, and Bennett, 2002). Therefore, Burger King needs to focus on various pricing strategies along with introducing different kind of deals for the customers in Pakistan.

Discussing about the product line, Burger King will have just one challenge, which has already been discussed earlier, and that is of the concept of Halal Food. If they would be unable to target this factor in their advertising strategy, there is a possibility of them being a failure in this region. Therefore, they must provide Halal Foods to Pakistanis, and also make them aware about the fact through their advertising campaign.

People in Pakistan also avoid long travelling. They usually try to find the nearest possible place for eating out, unless they want to go in a specific place. The example can be taken of Hardees in this context, as they initially opened just one franchise. This created a lot of hassle for the locals over there. Therefore, Burger King need to come up with a more stronger strategy to decide on ...