Environmental and Consumer Influence Analysis Paper

Environmental and Consumer Influence Analysis Paper

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 initial years would be the testing time for Burger King as they will have to deal with all these challenges, and also maintaining the standards of providing the quality food at the same time will not be that much easy, even for the company like Burger King (Shamoon, et.al, 2012, pp. 50).

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.

Discussion

Consumer demand has changed significantly over the past decade. First of all, there are simply more varieties requested by Burger King's consumers. For example, the number of products in supermarkets has risen from thirteen thousand in 1981 to twenty-one thousand in 1987. These market shifts have created tremendous revenue streams. However, this consumer windfall has also been some manufacturers' downfall (Corey, Raymond & Star, 1971).

The traditional supply chain and manufacturing practices were not originally designed to deliver such variety and complexity. In addition, customer demand is often volatile as a result of two other factors: changes in customers' buying habits, including seasonality, and changes caused by Burger Kings' actions or policies, or actions taken by competitors (Hisrich, Peters & Shepherd, 2005). In addition, customer demand is often volatile as a result of two other factors: changes in customers' buying habits, including seasonality, and changes caused by company actions or policies, or actions taken by competitors. The first change in demand is difficult for a company to control, as consumers change their preferences. The second change in demand is caused by internal company actions including marketing activities designed to stimulate demand (Drucker, 1954).

Even though, there is lot of opportunities available for the customers in terms of fast food options, but where the customer base is higher, the bargaining power ...