Burger King’s parent company Restaurant Brands International has announced plans to invest an additional $300 million in renovating around 1,100 of its US restaurants as part of a broader turnaround strategy. This brings the total amount spent on revitalising Burger King’s U.S. Business up to approximately $2.2 billion by Restaurant Brands International.
The initiative began about a year and half ago with an initial investment of $250 million for renovations, technology updates, and marketing efforts through the company’s mobile app. In January 2019, RBI purchased Burger King’s largest US franchisee Carrols Restaurant Group for $1 billion to speed up remodelling plans. The parent firm anticipates that it will spend an extra $500 million modernising and refurbishing the locations previously owned by Carroll’s.
Tom Curtis, President of Burger King U.S., explained in a CNBC interview: “It was the first time in quite some time that RBI had invested significantly back into the business to co-invest with franchisees.” In February 2018 around ten new design elements, called ‘Sizzle’, were introduced by Burger King. These features include drive-thru pickup for mobile orders and self-order kiosks in order to boost sales of items such as Whoppers and fries.
However, the remodelling process can be expensive with high interest rates often requiring temporary closures during construction work. To encourage franchisees to undertake renovations, Burger King is providing them a cash reward once they complete their refurbishments in addition to offering discounts on royalties paid to the company.
Curtis will embark upon a nationwide tour starting Tuesday pitching this remodelling strategy and signing up franchisees for the $300 million investment programme. Approximately 100 locations have been updated already, with early results indicating an increase in sales after refurbishments are complete according to Curtis’ comments made on CNBC . Restaurant Brands International has announced that roughly 90% of all their US restaurants will feature the new modern design by around 2028.
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