Burger King Plans Large Expansion in China

By Charlene Cooper

A Chinese customer eats a burger at a Burger King.

A Chinese customer eats a burger at a Burger King. (Photo: Reuters)

Burger King, One of the largest hamburger chains in the world, plans on expanding in China. With only 63 current restaurants in China, the company will be opening 1,000 locations in the country within five to seven years. This is the biggest development deal that Burger King has ever made.

Competitor McDonald’s Corp. currently has over 1,400 restaurant locations in China.

The company explained to Bloomberg BusinessWeek, that the expansion is a collaboration between the Kurdoglu family, which is responsible for Burger King restaurants in Turkey, and Cartesian Capital Group, a private equity firm.

Burger King has over 12,500 restaurants around the world. The company’s biggest international franchise is run by the Kurdoglu family.

Burger King revealed plans to additionally expand in Russia earlier this month. In 2011, the company also expanded its restaurants in Brazil.

Last year, 80 percent of Burger King’s expansion had occurred in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.

With its past market share declining nationally, the company agreed to be taken by 3G Capital, a New York based investment firm, in 2010.

Rather than expanding in the United States, Burger King locations have seen more of a face lift to current restaurants. This past April, the company expanded its menu, including popular options such as snack wraps and fruit smoothies.

Competing companies such as McDonald’s Corp and Yum Brands Inc. which owns Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut, have also been looking into international expansion. McDonald’s has decided to open 900 new fast food locations in 2012, in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. During its first quarter, Yum Brands Inc. expanded in China by opening 168 new restaurants in the country.

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