Abstract
Burger King was established in 1954 in Miami, Florida, by James McLamore and David Edgerton. They were among the pioneers of fast food. The Whopper , launched in 1957, was an instant success, and is today the emblem of the brand. Burger King quickly distinguished itself by its unique taste and formula, which allows the buyer to order the burger according to his own preferences. Soon, the founders saw beyond their borders, and thought about installing restaurants abroad, including in Canada, which would become one of the main opportunities for the company. The first Hamburger with soy was launched in this new country. Furthermore BK, tested new concepts in this country, and launched a new design, that of the playground.
In 1963 the first franchised restaurant opened its doors in Puerto Rico and in 1969 in Windsor, Ontario. The Whopper then made its appearance in Canada. The brand was sold in 1989, to the British group Grand Metropolitan. The chain owned up to thirty-nine restaurants in France, mostly Paris and the surrounding region (sixteen institutions), but is also present in the Southwest. Of these sixteen restaurants were owned by the company and twenty-three were part of a network of franchisees. The French restaurants were deemed too unprofitable, and thus closed. The management indicated that the gap between Burger King and its competitors was too large to expect a quick recovery. The group decided to refocus on its European business in England, Germany and Spain. In 2002 Texas Pacific, Bain Capital LLC and Goldman Sachs Capital bought three quarters of the shares for $ 1.5 billion.
The mascot of Burger King is called the King. It is represented as a bearded king wearing royal robes, and a crown. It appears mostly in TV commercials in the United States. The slogan of the brand is "Have it your way". Since 2003, the role has been played by an actor wearing a plastic mask with a joyful expression. It gained notoriety in the popular American culture because many viewers found the appearance grotesque and frightening. In 2005, the brand decided to tackle the Chinese market by launching a restaurant in Shanghai.
The group's current strategy is to address the emerging cities. According to this strategy, we will now focus on entering a new emerging city, Johannesburg, in South Africa. This city can be considered as an emerging one, because of the football World Cup that is scheduled to take place in South Africa. It involves the entire country, and contributes to its development through the massive investments that had been made. We will present an outline of a marketing strategy on the assumption that I will be the entrepreneur who will be the franchise of Burger King in South Africa.
