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About McDonald's...


  McDonald's...
Is the leading global foodservice retailer with more than 30,000 local restaurants serving 52 million people in more than 100 countries each day. More than 70% of McDonald's restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent local men and women.
Is one of the world's most well-known and valuable brands and holds a leading share in the globally branded quick service restaurant segment of the informal eating-out market in virtually every country in which we do business.

Serves the world some of its favorite foods - World Famous French Fries, Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Chicken McNuggets and Egg McMuffin.

Our rich history began with our founder, Ray Kroc. The strong foundation that he built continues today with McDonald's vision and the commitment of our talented executives to keep the shine on McDonald's arches for years to come. To read more about McDonald's history, vision and executives, click on their links in the left menu.
If you're looking for information about Burger King Corporation, chances are you'll find it here. Franchises or careers? Sure. BURGER KING® News? No Problem. Contact Information? You bet. Think of Company Info as the enthusiastic bookworm of Burger King Corporation.

We've been around awhile – over 50 years – but our success didn't just happen overnight, or without strong leadership. See for yourself. Or not. HAVE IT YOUR WAY®.

McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is the world's largest chain of fast food restaurants, serving nearly 47 million customers daily.[3] McDonald's primarily sells hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken products, French fries, breakfast items, soft drinks, milkshakes and desserts. More recently, it has begun to offer salads, wraps and fruit. Many McDonald's restaurants have included a playground for children and advertising geared toward children, and some have been redesigned in a more 'natural' style, with a particular emphasis on comfort: introducing lounge areas and fireplaces, and eliminating hard plastic chairs and tables.

In addition to its signature restaurant chain, McDonald’s Corporation holds minority interest in Pret A Manger (a UK-based sandwich retailer), and owned the Chipotle Mexican Grill until 2006 and the restaurant chain Boston Market until 2007.[4] The company has also expanded the McDonald's menu in recent decades to include alternative meal options, such as salads and snack wraps, in order to capitalize on growing consumer interest in health and wellness.

Each McDonald's restaurant is operated by a franchisee, an affiliate, or the corporation itself. The corporations' revenues come from the rent, royalties and fees paid by the franchisees, as well as sales in company-operated restaurants. McDonald's revenues grew 27% over the three years ending in 2007 to $22.8 billion, and 9% growth in operating income to $3.9 billion.[5]

History
 
"Speedee"
Main article: History of McDonald's

The business began in 1940, with a restaurant opened by siblings Dick and Mac McDonald in San Bernardino, California. Their introduction of the "Speedee Service System" in 1948 established the principles of the modern fast-food restaurant. The original mascot of McDonald's was a man with a chef's hat on top of a hamburger shaped head whose name was "Speedee." Speedee was eventually replaced with Ronald McDonald in 1963.

The present corporation dates its founding to the opening of a franchised restaurant by Ray Kroc, in Des Plaines, Illinois on April 15, 1955[6] , the ninth McDonald's restaurant overall. Kroc later purchased the McDonald brothers' equity in the company and led its worldwide expansion and the company became listed on the public stock markets in 1965[7]. Kroc was also noted for predatory and unscrupulous business practices, forcing the McDonald's brothers to leave the fast food business and leave California to return to their state of origin, New Hampshire. The McDonald's brothers were forced by Ray Kroc to take their own name off of their restaurants, after being sued by Kroc. Kroc deliberately opened up McDonald's restaurants near every McDonald's brothers restaurants just to undercut their business in a feud documented in both Kroc's autobiography and in the McDonald brothers autobiography. The site of the McDonald brothers' original restaurant is now a monument.

With the expansion of McDonald's into many international markets, the company has become a symbol of globalization and the spread of the American way of life. Its prominence has also made it a frequent topic of public debates about obesity, corporate ethics and consumer responsibility.

Corporate overview

Facts and figures
 
A McDonald's store front in Times Square.
 
The interior of a McCafé concept located in Dublin, Ireland.

McDonald's restaurants are found in 119 countries[8] and territories around the world and serve nearly 47 million customers each day. McDonald's operates over 31,000 restaurants worldwide, employing more than 1.5 million people[9]. The company also operates other restaurant brands, such as Piles Café, and has a minority stake in Pret a Manger. The company owned a majority stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill until completing its divestment in October 2006. Until December 2003, it also owned Donatos Pizza. On August 27, 2007, McDonald's sold Boston Market to Sun Capital Partners.[10]

Types of restaurants

Most standalone McDonald's restaurants offer both counter service and drive-through service, with indoor and sometimes outdoor seating. Drive-Thru, Auto-Mac, Pay and Drive, or McDrive as it is known in many countries, often has separate stations for placing, paying for, and picking up orders, though the latter two steps are frequently combined; it was first introduced in Arizona in 1975, following the lead of other fast-food chains. In some countries "McDrive" locations near highways offer no counter service or seating. In contrast, locations in high-density city neighborhoods often omit drive-through service. There are also a few locations, located mostly in downtown districts, that offer Walk-Thru service in place of Drive-Thru.

Specially themed restaurants also exist, such as the "Solid Gold McDonald's," a 1950s rock-and-roll themed restaurant. In Victoria, British Columbia, there is also a McDonald's with a 24 carat (100%) gold chandelier and similar light fixtures.
 
The site of the first McDonald's to be franchised by Ray Kroc is now a museum in Des Plaines, Illinois. The building is a replica of the original, which was the ninth McDonald's restaurant.

To accommodate the current trend for high quality coffee and the popularity of coffee shops in general, McDonald's introduced McCafés. The McCafé concept is a café-style accompaniment to McDonald's restaurants. McCafé is a concept of McDonald's Australia, starting with Melbourne in 1993. Today, most McDonald's in Australia have McCafés located within the existing McDonald's restaurant. In Tasmania there are McCafés in every store, with the rest of the states quickly following suit. After upgrading to the new McCafe look and feel, some Australian stores have noticed up to a 60% increase in sales. As of the end of 2003 there were over 600 McCafés worldwide.

Some locations are connected to gas stations/convenience stores,[11] while others called McDonald's Express have limited seating and/or menu or may be located in a shopping mall. Other McDonald's are located in Wal-Mart stores. McStop is a location targeted at truckers and travelers which may have services found at truck stops.[12]

Playgrounds

Some McDonald's in suburban areas and certain cities feature large indoor or outdoor playgrounds, called "McDonald's PlayPlace" (if indoors) or "Playland" (outdoors)[citation needed]. The first PlayPlace with the familiar crawl-tube design with ball pits and slides was introduced in 1987 in the USA, with many more being constructed soon after. Some PlayPlace playgrounds have been renovated into "R Gym" areas.

"R Gyms" are in-restaurant play area that features interactive game zones designed for children aged 4 to 12. Equipped with stationary bicycles attached to video games, dance pads, basketball hoops, monkey bars, an obstacle course, and other games which emphasize physical activity.[13]

The "R Gym" features the Toddler Zone, an active play environment with age appropriate games that develop physical coordination and social skills; the Active Zone, designed for children aged four-to-eight that promotes physical fitness through fun play; the Sports Zone which features a series of sport oriented activities to promote aerobic exercise for children aged 9-to-12; the Parent Zone which features seating and provides a monitoring area for their children; and the Dining Area which allows families to eat.

Redesign
 
A McDonald's in Shenango Township, Pennsylvania just outside of New Castle was rebuilt in 2007 with the new "Forever Young" look.
 
A refurbished stand-alone McDonalds in Portsmouth, England. Unlike international McDonald's, British McDonald's are simply being refurbished rather than rebuilt.

In 2006, McDonald's introduced its "Forever Young" brand by redesigning all of their restaurants, the first major redesign since the 1970s.[14][15]

The new design will include the traditional McDonald's yellow and red colors, but the red will be muted to terra cotta, the yellow will turn golden for a more "sunny" look, and olive and sage green will be added. To warm up their look, the restaurants will have less plastic and more brick and wood, with modern hanging lights to produce a softer glow. Contemporary art or framed photographs will hang on the walls.

The exterior will have golden awnings and a "swish brow" instead of the traditional double-slanted mansard roof.

The new restaurants will feature areas:
The "linger" zone will offer armchairs, sofas, and Wi-Fi connections.
The "grab and go" zone will feature tall counters with bar stools for customers who eat alone; Plasma TVs will offer them news and weather reports.
The "flexible" zone will be targeted toward families and will have booths featuring fabric cushions with colorful patterns and flexible seating.
Different music targeted to each zone.

Business model

McDonald's Corporation earns revenue as an investor in properties, a franchiser of restaurants, and an operator of restaurants. Approximately 15% of McDonald's restaurants are owned and operated by McDonald's Corporation directly. The remainder are operated by others through a variety of franchise agreements and joint ventures.

The McDonald's Corporation's business model is slightly different from that of most other fast-food chains. In addition to ordinary franchise fees and marketing fees, which are calculated as a percentage of sales, McDonald's may also collect rent, which may also be calculated on the basis of sales. As a condition of many franchise agreements, which vary by contract age, country and location, the Corporation may own or lease the properties on which McDonald's franchises are located. In most, if not all cases, the franchisee does not own the location of its restaurants.

The UK business model is different, in that fewer than 30% of restaurants are franchised, with the majority under the ownership of the company. McDonald's trains its franchisees and others at Hamburger University in Oak Brook, Illinois.

In other countries McDonald's restaurants are operated by joint ventures of McDonald's Corporation and other, local entities or governments.

As a matter of policy, McDonald's does not make direct sales of food or materials to franchisees, instead organizing the supply of food and materials to restaurants through approved third party logistics operators.

According to Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser (2001), nearly one in eight workers in the U.S. have at some time been employed by McDonald's. (According to a news piece on Fox News this figure is one in ten). The book also states that McDonald's is the largest private operator of playgrounds in the U.S., as well as the single largest purchaser of beef, pork, potatoes, and apples. The selection of meats McDonald's uses varies with the culture of the host country.

Controversies
Main article: Criticism of McDonald's

As a prominent example of the rapid globalization of American fast food industry, McDonald's is often the target of criticism for its menu, its expansion, and its business practices. For example, in 1990, two British activists, David Morris and Helen Steel, distributed leaflets entitled What's wrong with McDonald's? on the streets of London. McDonald's wrote to Steel and Morris demanding they desist and apologize, and, when they refused, sued them for libel in a case known colloquially as the McLibel case.

In 2001, Eric Schlosser's book Fast Food Nation included criticism of McDonald's' business practices. Among the critiques were allegations that McDonald's (along with other companies within the fast-food industry) uses its political influence to increase their own profits at the expense of people's health and the social conditions of its workers. The book also brought into question McDonald's advertisement techniques in which it targets children. While the book did mention other fast-food chains, it focused primarily on McDonald's.

In 2002, vegetarian groups, largely Hindu, successfully sued McDonald's for misrepresenting their French fries as vegetarian.[16]

Morgan Spurlock's 2004 documentary film Super Size Me said that McDonald's food was contributing to the epidemic of obesity in society, and that the company was failing to provide nutritional information about its food for its customers. Six weeks after the film premiered, McDonald's announced that it was eliminating the super size option, and was creating the adult happy meal.

Anthony Bourdain on his show, No Reservations, has criticized McDonald's among other fast-food restaurants for its culinary blandness.

In 1999 José Bové vandalized a McDonald's in France to protest against the introduction of fast food in the region.[17]

Arguments in defense of McDonald's

In response to public pressure, McDonald's has sought to include more healthy choices in its menu and has introduced a new slogan to its recruitment posters: "Not bad for a McJob". (The word McJob, first attested in the mid-1980s[18] and later popularized by Canadian novelist Douglas Coupland in his book Generation X, has become a buzz word for low-paid, unskilled work with few prospects or benefits and little security.) McDonald's disputes the idea that its restaurant jobs have no prospects, noting that its CEO, Jim Skinner, started working at the company as a regular restaurant employee, and that 20 of its top 50 managers began work as regular crew members.[19] In 2007, the company launched an advertising campaign with the slogan "Would you like a career with that?" on Irish television, outlining that their jobs have many prospects.

In a bid to tap into growing consumer interest in the provenance of food, the fast-food chain recently switched its supplier of both coffee beans and milk. UK chief executive Steve Easterbrook said: "British consumers are increasingly interested in the quality, sourcing and ethics of the food and drink they buy". McDonald's coffee is now brewed from beans taken from stocks that have been certified by the Rainforest Alliance, a conservation group. Similarly, milk supplies used for its hot drinks and milkshakes have been switched to organic sources which could account for 5% of the UK's organic milk output.[20]

McDonald's announced on May 22, 2008 that, in the U.S. and Canada, it will be introducing cooking oil for its french fries that contains no trans fats. The company will use canola-based oil with corn and soy oils by year's end for its baked items, pies and cookies.[21][22]

Environmental record
 
Potted plants at a McDonald's.

In April 2008, McDonald's announced that 11 of its Sheffield restaurants have been using a biomass trial that had cut its waste and carbon footprint by half in the area. In this trial, waste from the restaurants were collected by Veolia Environmental Services and used to produce energy at a power plant. McDonald's plans to expand this project, however the lack of biomass power plants in the U.S. will prevent this plan from becoming a national standard anytime soon.[23] In addition, in Europe, McDonald's has been recycling vegetable grease by converting it to fuel for their diesel trucks.[24]

Furthermore, McDonald's has been using a corn-based bioplastic to produce containers for some of their products. Although industries who use this product claim a carbon savings of 30% to 80%, a Guardian study shows otherwise. The results show that this type of plastic does not break down in landfills as efficiently as other conventional plastics. The extra energy it takes to recycle this plastic results in a higher output of greenhouse gases. Also, the plastics can contaminate waste streams causing other recycled plastics to become unsaleable.[25]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recognized McDonald's continuous effort to reduce solid waste by designing more efficient packaging and by promoting the use of recycled-content materials.[26] McDonald's report that they are committed towards environmental leadership by effectively managing electric energy, by conserving natural resources through recycling and reusing materials, and by addressing water management issues within the restaurant.[27]

When McDonald’s received criticism for its environmental policies in the 1970s, it began to make substantial progress towards source reductions efforts.[28] For instance, an “average meal” in the 1970s—a Big Mac, fries, and a drink—required 46 grams of packaging; today, it requires only 25 grams, allowing a 46 percent reduction.[29] In addition, McDonald’s eliminated the need for intermediate containers for cola by having a delivery system that pumps syrup directly from the delivery truck into storage containers, saving two million pounds of packaging annually.[30] Overall, weight reductions in packaging and products, as well as the increased usage of bulk packaging ultimately decreased packaging by 24 million pounds annually.[31]

Legal cases
Main article: McDonald's legal cases

McDonald's has been involved in a number of lawsuits and other legal cases, most of which involved trademark disputes. The company has threatened many food businesses with legal action unless they drop the Mc or Mac from their trading name. In one noteworthy case, McDonald's sued a Scottish café owner called McDonald, even though the business in question dated back over a century (Sheriff Court Glasgow and Strathkelvin, November 21, 1952).

It has also filed numerous defamation suits. For example, in the McLibel case, McDonald's sued two Greenpeace activists for distributing pamphlets attacking its environmental, labor and health records. After the longest trial in UK legal history, McDonald's won a technical victory for showing that some allegations were untrue. But it was a massive public relations disaster since the judge also found that more than half of what was on the pamphlet was truthful, or were simply the opinions of the activists and therefore non-prosecutable.

McDonald's has defended itself in several cases involving workers' rights. In 2001 the company was fined £12,400 by British magistrates for illegally employing and over-working child labor in one of its London restaurants. This is thought to be one of the largest fines imposed on a company for breaking laws relating to child working conditions (R v [2002] EWCA Crim 1094). In April 2007 in Perth, Western Australia, McDonald's pleaded guilty to five charges relating to the employment of children under 15 in one of its outlets and was fined AU$8,000.[32]

Possibly the most infamous legal case involving McDonald's was the 1994 decision in The McDonald's Coffee Case.

In a McDonalds American Idol figurine promotion, the figurine that represents "New Wave Nigel" wears something that closely resembles Devo’s Energy Dome, which was featured on the band's album cover, Freedom of Choice. In addition to the figurine's image, it also plays a tune that appears to be an altered version Devo's song "Doctor Detroit." Devo copyrighted and trademarked the Energy Dome and is taking legal action against McDonald's. [33]

Products
 
Ronald McDonald
Main article: McDonald's products
See also: McDonald's products (international)

McDonald's predominantly sells hamburgers, various types of chicken sandwiches and products, French fries, soft drinks, breakfast items, and desserts. In most markets, McDonald's offers salads and vegetarian items, wraps and other localized fare. This local deviation from the standard menu is a characteristic for which the chain is particularly known, and one which is employed either to abide by regional food taboos (such as the religious prohibition of beef consumption in India) or to make available foods with which the regional market is more familiar (such as the sale of McRice in Indonesia).

Advertising
Main article: McDonald's advertising

McDonald's has for decades maintained an extensive advertising campaign. In addition to the usual media (television, radio, and newspaper), the company makes significant use of billboards and signage, sponsors sporting events from ranging from Little League to the Olympic Games, and makes coolers of orange drink with their logo available for local events of all kinds. Nonetheless, television has always played a central role in the company's advertising strategy.

To date, McDonald's has used 23 different slogans in United States advertising, as well as a few other slogans for select countries and regions. At times, it has run into trouble with its campaigns.

Children's advertising
Main articles: Ronald McDonald and McDonaldland

Global operations
 
Countries with McDonald's stores

McDonald's has become emblematic of globalization, sometimes referred as the "McDonaldization" of society. The Economist magazine uses the "Big Mac Index": the comparison of a Big Mac's cost in various world currencies can be used to informally judge these currencies' purchasing power parity.

The EFTA countries are leading the Big Mac Index with the top 3 most expensive Big Mac's. Iceland has the most expensive Big Mac, followed by Norway and Switzerland.

The brand is known informally as "Mickey D's" (in the US and Canada), "Macky D's" (in the UK and Ireland), MacDon's (in Canada), "Mäkkäri" (in Finland), "McDo" (in France, Quebec, the Philippines and the Kansai region of Japan), "Maccer's" (in Ireland), "Macarrannis" (in Mexico), "Maccas" (in New Zealand and Australia), "McD's" (in New Zealand), "Donken" (in Sweden), "de Mac" (in the Netherlands), Mäkkes (in Germany), "Mac" (in Brazil and the Kanto region of Japan) or "Mek" (in Serbia).

Thomas Friedman once said that no country with a McDonald's had gone to war with another.[34] However, the "Golden Arches Theory of Conflict Prevention" is not strictly true. Careful historians point to the 1989 United States invasion of Panama, NATO's bombing of Serbia in 1999, the 2006 Lebanon War, and the 2008 South Ossetia War as exceptions.

Some observers have suggested that the company should be given credit for increasing the standard of service in markets that it enters. A group of anthropologists in a study entitled Golden Arches East (Stanford University Press, 1998, edited by James L. Watson) looked at the impact McDonald's had on East Asia, and Hong Kong in particular. When it opened in Hong Kong in 1975, McDonald's was the first restaurant to consistently offer clean restrooms, driving customers to demand the same of other restaurants and institutions. In East Asia in particular, McDonald's have become a symbol for the desire to embrace Western cultural norms. McDonald's have recently taken to partnering up with Sinopec, China's second largest oil company, in the People's Republic of China, as it begins to take advantage of China's growing use of personal vehicles by opening numerous drive-thru restaurants.[35]

Global locations Argentina
 Aruba
 Australia
 Austria
 Azerbaijan
 Bahamas
 Bahrain
 Bangladesh
 Barbados
 Belarus
 Belgium
 Botswana
 Brazil
 Bulgaria
 Canada
 Chile
 People's Republic of China 
 Hong Kong
 Macau
 Colombia
 Costa Rica
 Croatia
 Cyprus
 Czech Republic
 Denmark
 Dominica Dominican Republic
 Ecuador
 Egypt
 El Salvador
 Estonia
 Fiji
 Finland
 France
 Georgia
 Germany
 Greece
 Grenada
 Guatemala
 Guyana
 Honduras
 Hungary
 Iceland
 Italy
 India
 Indonesia
 Ireland
 Israel
 Japan
 Jordan
 Kuwait
 Latvia Lebanon
 Lithuania
 Luxembourg
 Malaysia
 Malta
 Mauritius
 Mexico
 Moldova
 Morocco
 Netherlands
 New Zealand
 Nicaragua
 Norway
 Oman
 Pakistan
 Panama
 Peru
 Paraguay
 Philippines
 Poland
 Portugal
 Qatar
 Romania
 Russia
 Samoa
 Saint Lucia
 Saudi Arabia
 Serbia Singapore
 Slovakia
 Slovenia
 South Africa
 South Korea
 Spain
 Sri Lanka
 Sweden
 Switzerland
 Syria
 Taiwan
 Thailand
 Trinidad and Tobago
 Turkey
 Ukraine
 United Arab Emirates
 United Kingdom 
 Cayman Islands
 United States 
 American Samoa
 Guam
 Puerto Rico
 United States Virgin Islands
 Uruguay
 Venezuela
 Yemen
 Zimbabwe

Burger King (NYSE: BKC), often abbreviated to BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. The first restaurant was opened in Miami, Florida in 1954 by James McLamore and David Edgerton, and has since used several variations of franchising to expand its operations. Burger King Holdings is the parent company of Burger King; in the United States it operates under the Burger King Brands title while internationally it operates under the Burger King Corporation banner. It is a publicly traded company with investment firms of TPG Capital, L.P., Bain Capital, and Goldman Sachs each owning about 25% of the company.

At the end of its fiscal year 2007, Burger King reported that there are more than 11,300 outlets in 69 countries; 66% are in the United States and 90% are privately owned and operated. The company has more than 37,000 employees serving approximately 11.4 million customers daily.[2] In North America, franchises are licensed on a per store basis, while in several international locations licenses are sold on a regional basis with franchises owning exclusive development rights for the region or country. These regional franchises are known as master franchises, and are responsible for opening new restaurants, licensing new third party operators, and performing standards oversight of all restaurant locations in these countries. The largest example of a master franchise is Hungry Jack's, which exclusively owns, operates or sub-licenses over 300 restaurants in Australia.

As with other multi-national corporations, Burger King has been involved in several legal disputes and cases, as both plaintiff and defendant, in the years since its founding in 1954. Situations involving a myriad of legal topics have affected all aspects of the company's operations. Depending upon its ownership and executive staff at the time, its responses to these challenges have ranged from a conciliatory dialog with its critics to a more aggressive opposition with questionable tactics and negative consequences. How the company responded to these various issues has drawn praise, scorn, and accusations of political appeasement.

The Burger King menu has evolved from a basic offering of burgers, fries, sodas and milkshakes in 1954 to a larger, more diverse set of offerings that includes several variations of chicken, fish, salads and breakfast. The Whopper, a sandwich that has since become Burger King's signature product, was the first major addition to the menu by Mr. McLamore in 1957. Not all introductions have had the success of the Whopper; BK has introduced many products which failed to catch hold in the marketplace. Some products that have failed in the US have seen success in foreign markets, where BK has also tailored its menu for regional tastes.

The company's "Golden Age" of advertising was during the 1970s when it introduced its mascot the Magical Burger King, a memorable jingle, and several well known and parodied slogans. Beginning in the early 1980s, its advertising began to lose focus; a series of less successful ad campaigns created by various agencies continued for the next two decades. In 2003, Burger King set about resuscitating its moribund advertising with the hiring of the Miami-based advertising agency of Crispin Porter + Bogusky (CP+. They completely reorganized Burger King's advertising with a series of new advertisements centered around a resuscitated Magical Burger King character.Contents [hide]
1 Corporate profile 
1.1 History
1.2 International expansion
1.3 Key dates
1.4 Industry innovations
2 Franchises
3 Legal issues
4 Charitable contributions and services
5 Products
6 Advertising
7 Logos 
7.1 Evolution of the company logo
7.2 International variations
8 International operations
9 See also
10 References
11 External links 
11.1 Other sites


Corporate profile

History Please help improve this section by expanding it
with: It needs more data on the 1970s to mid 1980s period. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (August 2008)


Burger King's first restaurant, originally called Insta Burger King, was opened on December 4, 1954 in a suburb of Miami, Florida by James McLamore and David Edgerton; both alumni of the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration. McLamore visited the original McDonald's hamburger stand belonging to Dick and Mac McDonald in San Bernardino, California; sensing potential in their innovative assembly line-based production system, he decided to create a version of his own. By 1959, BK had grown to five regional stores in and around the metropolitan Miami area. About this time, McLamore and Edgerton decided to expand BK nationally by using a franchising system; a popular method for expansion due to its low capital cost for the parent company. They formed Burger King Corporation as the parent and began selling territorial franchise licenses to private owners across the US.[3]
 
Company headquarters in Miami, Florida
 
Restaurant in Redwood City, California

In 1967, after eight years of private operation, the Pillsbury Company acquired Burger King and its parent company Burger King Corporation. At the time of the purchase, BK had grown to 274 restaurants in the United States. Even though Pillsbury owned and operated the company, BK was still the object of a series of failed and successful acquisitions and divestitures. In 1973, Chart House, owner of 350 BK restaurants at the time and one of BK's largest franchise groups, attempted to purchase the chain from Pillsbury for $100 million (USD). When Chart House's bid failed, its owners, Billy and Jimmy Trotter, suggested that Pillsbury and Chart House spin off their respective Burger King holdings and merge the two entities into a separate company, an offer Pillsbury also declined. After the failed attempts to acquire BK, the relationship with Chart House and the Trotters began to sour; in 1979 BK successfully sued Chart House for improperly acquiring locations in Boston and Houston.[3] In 1984, Pillsbury purchased Chart House's successor DiversiFoods for $390 million (USD) after a separate, independent $525 million DiversiFoods management-backed leveraged buy-out of the company failed.[4][5]

BK, and former corporate siblings, Bennigan's, Steak and Ale, Godfather's Pizza (part of the DiversiFoods acquisition[6]), Quik Wok and Häagen Dazs ice cream shops, remained under the Pillsbury corporate umbrella until Pillsbury divested its restaurant holdings in 1989 and sold Burger King to British alcoholic beverage manufacturer and distributor Grand Metropolitan PLC. In 1989, under the ownership of Grand Met, Burger King acquired many locations of its major UK rival Wimpy when the parent company bought the Wimpy's brand from its previous owner United Biscuits and re-branded them as Burger King, giving it an even greater presence in that country. While other "Wimpy" locations are still in operation presently, they are now independent from BK and no longer have the presence they once did.[3] In 1997, Grand Metropolitan merged with Guinness to form a company called Diageo. Diageo maintained ownership of BKC until 2001 when Diageo decided to focus solely on their beverage products and divest itself of the chain.

By the time of the sale, Burger King's revenues and market share had declined significantly, Burger King had fallen to a near tie for second place with rival Wendy's in the US market for hamburger chain restaurants.[7] For many years leading into the early 2000s Burger King and its various owners plus many of its larger franchises closed many under-performing stores.[8] Several of its largest franchises entered bankruptcy due to the issues surrounding the performance of the brand.[9][10]

In 2002, a troika of private equity firms led by TPG Capital, L.P with associates Bain Capital and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners agreed to purchase BK from Diageo for $1.5 billion (USD),[3] with the sale becoming complete in December of that year.[11] The new owners, through several new CEOs, have moved to revitalize and reorganize the company, the first major move was to re-name the BK parent as Burger King Brands.[12] The investment group initially planned to take BK public within the two years of the acquisition, this was delayed until 2006. On February 1, 2006, CEO Greg Brenneman announced TPG's plans to turn Burger King into a publicly traded company by issuing an Initial Public Offering (IPO). On February 16, the company announced it had filed its registration for the IPO with the Securities and Exchange Commission. On May 18, 2006, Burger King began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BKC and generated $425 million in revenue, the largest IPO of a US-based restaurant chain on record.[13]

International expansion

While BK began its foray in to locations outside of the continental United States in 1963 with a store in San Juan, Puerto Rico, it did not have a large international presence. This situation changed shortly after the acquisition when Pillsbury opened its first international restaurant in Canada in 1969. Other international locations followed soon after: Oceania in 1971 with Hungry Jack's and in Europe in 1975 with a restaurant in Madrid, Spain. Beginning in 1982, BK and its franchisees began operating stores in several East Asian countries, including Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea.[3] Due to high competition, all of the Japanese locations closed by the end of 2001. BK reentered the Japanese market in mid-2007.[14] BK's Central and South American operations began in Mexico in the late 1970s.[3] While Burger King lags behind McDonald's in international locations by over 12,000 stores, it has managed to become the largest chain in several countries including Mexico and Spain.[15] To assist in its international expansion, Burger King has established several subsidiaries to develop strategic partnerships and alliances to expand into new territories; in Europe, Burger King's subsidiary Burger King Europe GmbH is responsible for the licensing and development of BK franchises in the that market, Africa and Western Asia. In Asia, the BK AsiaPac, PTE. Ltd. business unit handles franchising for East Asia, the Asian subcontinent and all Oceanic territories except Australia.

Over the ten year period starting in 2008, Burger King sees 80% of its market share to be driven by foreign expansion, particularly in the Asia-Pacific and Indian subcontinent regional markets.[16] While the TPG-lead group has continued BK's international expansion by announcing plans to open new franchise locations in Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East, and Brazil, the company plans to focus on the three largest markets, India, China and Japan.[17][18][19][20] The company plans to add over 250 stores in these Asian territories, as well as other countries such as Macau, by the end of 2012.[21] Its expansion into the Indian market has the company at a competitive disadvantage with other QSR vendors such as KFC because the country's large Hindu majority's aversion to beef. BK hopes to use their recent non-beef products, such as their TenderCrisp and TenderGrill sandwiches, as well as other products to help them overcome this hurdle to expand in that country.[16]

At the end of its fiscal 2008 year, Burger King is the second largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants in the world behind industry bellwether McDonald's (31,000 locations) and the fourth largest fast food restaurant chain overall after Yum! Brands (34,000 locations), McDonald's and Subway (28,400 locations).[22][23][24]

Key dates
1954: James McLamore and David Edgerton establish Burger King Corporation.[3]
1957: The Whopper is launched.[3]
1958: BK releases its first TV advertisement.[25]
1959: The company begins to expand through franchising.[3]
1967: Burger King is sold to Pillsbury.[3]
1977: Donald N. Smith is hired to restructure the firm's franchise system.[3]
1982: Burger King claims its burgers taste better than its competition's (McDonald's and Wendy's) fried burgers.[3]
1989: Grand Metropolitan plc acquires Pillsbury.[3]
1997: The firm launches a $70 million French fry advertising campaign; Grand Metropolitan merges with Guinness to form Diageo plc.[3]
2000: Diaego investigates a possible IPO or sale of the company
2001: A North American franchise group seeks to purchase the company
2002: A group of investors led by Texas Pacific Group acquire Burger King.[3]
2006: BKC, with the same stock symbol, goes public in an IPO.

Industry innovations
In the early 1970s, Burger King was the first fast-food restaurant to offer an enclosed and air-conditioned seating area.[26]

Franchises
Main article: Burger King franchises
 
Carrols Restaurant Group of New York is the largest franchisee.

When Burger King Corporation began franchising in 1967, it relied on a regional franchising model where franchisees would purchase the right to open stores within a defined geographic region. These franchise agreements granted BKC very little oversight control over its franchisees and resulted in issues of product quality control, store image and design and operations procedures.[3][27]

This model remained in place until 1978 when Donald Smith initiated a restructuring of all future franchising agreements, disallowing new owners from living more than one hour from their restaurants, preventing corporations from owning franchises and prohibiting franchisees from operating other chains. This new policy effectively limited the size of franchisees and prevented larger franchises from challenging Burger King Corporation as Chart House had.[27] Smith also sought to have BKC be the primary owner of new locations and rent or lease the restaurants to its franchises. This policy would allow the company to take over the operations of failing stores or evict those owners who would not conform to the company guidelines and policies.[3] However, by 1988 BKC parent Pillsbury had relaxed many of Smith's changes, scaled back on construction of new locations and stalling growth.[28] Neglect of Burger King by new owner Grand Met, and its successor Diageo, further hurt the standing of the brand, causing yet more financial damage to BK franchises.[29]

By 2001 and nearly eighteen years of stagnant growth, many of its franchises were in some sort of financial distress. The lack of growth severely impacted BKC's largest franchise, the nearly 400 store AmeriKing; by 2001 the company, which until this point had been struggling under a nearly $300 million debt load and been shedding store across the US, was forced to enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[30] The failure of AmeriKing deeply affected the value of the BKC, and put negotiations between Diaego and the TPC Capital-lead group on hold. The developments eventually forced Diaego to lower the total selling price of BKC by almost three quarters of a billion dollars.[31] After the sale, newly appointed CEO Bradley Blum initiated a program to help the roughly 20% of its franchises, including its four largest, who were in financial distress, bankruptcy or had ceased operations altogether.[32] Partnering with the California-based Trinity Capital, LLC, the company established the Franchisee Financial Restructuring Initiative, a program to address the financial issues facing BK's financially distressed franchisees. The initiative was designed to assist franchisees in restructuring their businesses in order to meet financial obligations, focus on restaurant operational excellence, reinvest in their operations and return to profitability.[33]

Individual owners also took advantage of the AmeriKing failure; one of BK's regional owners, Miami-based Al Cabrera, purchased 130 stores located primarily in the Chicago and the upper mid-west region, from the failed company for a bargain basement price of $16 million, or approximately 88% of their original value. The new company, which started out as Core Value Partners and eventually became Heartland Foods, also purchased 120 additional stores from distressed owners and completely revamped them. The resulting purchases made Mr. Cabrerra BKB's largest minority franchisee and Heartland one of BKH's top franchises.[34] By 2006, the company was valued at over $150 million, and was sold to New York-based GSO Capital Partners.[35] Other purchasers included a three way group of NFL athletes Kevin Faulk, Marcus Allen and Michael Strahan who collectively purchased 17 stores in the cities of Norfolk and Richmond, Virginia;[36] and Cincinnati-based franchisee Dave Devoy, who purchased 32 AmeriKing stores. After investing in new decor, equipment and staff retraining, many of the formerly failing stores have shown growth upwards of 20%.[29]

Legal issues
Main article: Burger King legal issues
 
The Hoots' family Burger King restaurant in Mattoon, Illinois.

As with other multi-national corporations, Burger King has had its share of legal issues and cases. Situations involving a myriad of topics have affected all aspects of the company. Depending upon its ownership and executive staff at the time, its responses to these challenges have ranged from a conciliatory dialog with its critics to a more aggressive opposition with questionable tactics and negative consequences.[37][38][39][40] How the company responded to these various issues has drawn praise,[41] scorn,[42] and accusations of political appeasement.[43]

A trademark dispute involving the owners of the similarly named Burger King in Mattoon, Illinois led to a federal lawsuit whose outcome helped define the scope of the Lanham act in the United States;[44] while an existing trademark held by a shop of the same name in Queensland forced the company to change its name in Australia.[45] Legal decisions from other suits have set contractual law precedents in regards to long-arm statutes, the limitations of franchise agreements, and ethical business practices; many of these decisions have helped define general business dealings that continue to shape the entire marketplace.[46][47]

Controversies and disputes with groups such as PETA over the welfare of animals, governmental and social agencies over health issues, and unions and trade groups over labor relations, have touched on concepts of animal rights,[48] corporate responsibility,[49] and social justice.[50] The outcome of these disputes have often resulted in legal agreements that alter the way the company interacts and negotiates contracts with its suppliers and how it does business with the public it serves.

A breach of contract dispute between BK and its Israeli franchise erupted into a geopolitical conflagration involving Muslim and Jewish groups on multiple continents,[51][52][53] with calls for international boycotts from both sides as well as threats from members of the Arab League to revoke Burger King's business licenses in Islamic countries.[52][53][54] A second issue with members of the Islamic faith regarding the interpretation of promotional artwork on a dessert package in the United Kingdom raised issues of cultural sensitivity,[55] and, with the former example, posed a larger question about the lengths which companies must go to insure the smooth operation of their businesses in the communities they serve.

Charitable contributions and services

Burger King has several of its own in-house national charitable organizations and programs. The first is the Have It Your Way Foundation, a U.S.-based non-profit, 501©(3) corporation with multiple focuses on hunger alleviation, disease prevention and community education through scholarship programs at colleges in the US. The other charitable organization is the McLamore Foundation, also a non-profit, 501©(3) corporation that provides scholarships to students in the US and its territories.[56][57] Additionally, there is an optional literacy program that partners individual restaurants with community schools in the US.

In various regions across the United States, Burger King and its franchises have aligned themselves with several charitable organizations that support research and treatment of juvenile cancer. Each year these coalitions hold a fund raising drive called A Chance for Kids, which has the restaurants selling lottery-style scratch cards for $1. Each card produces a winning prize that is usually a food or beverage product, but includes items such as shopping sprees or trips. In the Northeast, BK has affiliated itself with the Major League Baseball team the Boston Red Sox and its charitable foundation, the Jimmy Fund. The group runs the contest in Boston, in the New York city area it operates the contest in association with the Burger King Children's Charities of Metro New York and the New York Yankees. Funds raised in these areas go to support the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute located in Boston.[58][59] In Nebraska, the company is affiliated with the Liz's Legacy Cancer Fund BK Beat Cancer for Kids program at the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.[60] In the Pittsburgh region it funded the establishment of the Burger King Cancer Caring Center, a support organization for the patients, families and friends of cancer patients.[61]

Products
Main article: Burger King products
 
The Whopper sandwich, Burger King's signature product.

When the company began, its menu consisted predominantly of hamburgers, French fries, soft drinks, and desserts. In 1957, BK added its signature item, the Whopper. This quarter pound hamburger was created by Burger King founders James McLamore and David Edgerton as a way to differentiate BK from other burger outlets at the time. The sandwich became famous enough that BK eventually adopted the motto "Home of the Whopper."

One of Donald N. Smith's first changes to the menu was the addition of the Burger King Specialty sandwich line in 1979, which significantly expanded the breadth of the BK menu with many non-hamburger sandwiches including new chicken and fish offerings. The new specialty sandwich line was one of the first attempts to target a specific demographic, in this case adults 18-34, members of which would be willing spend more on a higher quality product.[62] One of Smith's other significant contribution to the menu was the addition of a breakfast product line, which until this time was not a market Burger King had entered.[62] Besides the addition of the Croissan'Wich in 1983, the breakfast menu remained almost identical to the McDonald's offerings until a menu revamp in 1985.[3] This expansion introduced BK's Am Express product line which added new products such as French toast sticks and Mini-muffins.

As the company expanded both inside and outside the US, it introduced localized versions of its products that conform to regional tastes and cultural or religious beliefs. International variations add ingredients such as teriyaki or beetroot and fried egg to the Whopper,[63] beer in Germany, Italy and Spain, and halal or kosher products in the middle East and Israel.[64][65][66] To generate additional sales, BK will occasionally introduce limited time offers (LTOs) that are versions of its core products or new products intended for either long or short term sales. Items such as the Texas Double Whopper and various sandwiches made with mushrooms and Swiss cheese have been rotated in and out of its menu for several years while products such as its 1993 offering, a Meatloaf Specialty Sandwich and limited table service along with special dinner platters, failed to generate interest and were discontinued.[67]
 
A meal including small french fries, a Whopper, Jr., Barq's Root Beer, and packets of Heinz ketchup.

In order to appeal to as many demographic groups as possible and better compete with its QSR competitor Wendy's, Burger King added a multi-tiered value menu in 1993 with items priced at 99¢, $1.99 and $2.99 (USD). The project called, Operation Phoenix, was an attempt to add not only a value menu but a line of value meals. The tiered menu was replaced with a more standard value menu in 1998, while the value meals were separated into their own menu segemnt.[68] This value menu featured seven products: Whopper Jr., 5 piece Chicken Tenders, a bacon cheeseburger, medium sized french fries, medium soft drink, medium onion rings and small shake. In 2002 and 2006, BK revamped its value menu adding and removing several different products such as chili and its Rodeo Cheeseburger.[69] Many of these items have since been discontinued, modified or relegated to a regional menu option.[70] To better appeal to a more adult palate and demographic, BK introduced several new products to its menu in 2003, including several new or revamped chicken products, a new salad line and its BK Joe brand of coffee. Some of the new products, including its Enormous Omelet Sandwich line and the BK Stacker line, brought negative attention due the large portion size, amounts of unhealthy fats and trans-fats.[71][72][73] Many of these products feature higher quality ingredients like whole chicken breast, Angus beef, natural cheeses such as cheddar and pepper jack.[74][75] Again, not all these products, such as the BK Baguette line, have met corporate sales expectations.[76]

Advertising
Main article: Burger King advertising
 
The most recent version of the company mascot, The Burger King, from a 2006 commercial.

Burger King has employed varied advertising programs, both successful and unsuccessful, since its foundation in 1954. During the 1970s, output included a memorable jingle, the inspiration for its current mascot the Burger King and several well known and parodied slogans such as Have it your way and It takes two hands to hold a Whopper.[77][78] Burger King introduced the first attack ad in the fast food industry with the help of then unknown Sarah Michelle Gellar in 1981. The television spot, which claimed BK burgers were larger than competitor McDonald's, so enraged executives at McDonald's parent company, they sued all parties involved.[79][80] Starting in the early 1980s and running through approximately 2001, BK engaged a series of ad agencies that produced many unsuccessful slogans and programs, including its biggest advertising flop Where's Herb?.[81][82]

Burger King was a pioneer in the advertising practice known as the product tie-in with a successful partnering with George Lucas' Lucasfilm, Ltd. to promote the 1977 movie Star Wars film Star Wars (later renamed Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope) in which BK sold a set of glasses featuring the main characters from the film. This promotion was one of the first in the fast food industry and set the pattern that continues to the present. BK's early success in the field was overshadowed by a 1982 deal between McDonald's and the Walt Disney Company to promote Disney's animated films beginning in the mid 1980s and running through the early 1990s. In 1994 Disney switched from McDonald's to Burger King, signing a ten film promotional contract which would include such top ten films as Aladdin (1992), Beauty and the Beast (1991), The Lion King (1994) and Toy Story (1995).[83] A partnership in association with the Pokémon franchise at the height of its popularity in 1999 was one of the most successful in the industry, rivaled only by McDonald's/Ty Beanie Babies cross-promotion in 1999-2000.[84]

Shortly after the acquisition of Burger King by TPG Capital, L.P. in 2002, its newly hired CEO Bradley (Brad) Blum set about turning around fortunes of the company by initiating an overhaul its flailing advertising programs. One of the first moves by the company was to reinstate its famous Have it your way slogan as the corporate motto. BK handed the effort off to its new advertising agency, Miami-based Crispin Porter + Bogusky (abbreviated as CP+. CP+B was known for having a hip, subversive tack when creating campaigns for its clients, exactly what BK was looking for.[76][85] One of CP+B strategies was to revive the Burger King character used during BKs 1970s/1980s Burger King Kingdom children's advertising campaign as a caricatured variation now simply called "the King". The farcical nature of the Burger King centered advertisements inspired an internet meme where the King is photoshopped into unusual situations that are either comical or menacing, many times followed with the phrase Where is your God now?.

Additionally, CP+B created a series new characters like the Subservient Chicken and the faux nu metal band Coq Roq featured in a series of viral web-based advertisements on sites such as MySpace and various BK corporate pages to compliment the various television and print promotional campaigns.[86][87][88] One of the more unique promotions that CP+B devised was the creation of a series of three advergames for the Xbox 360. Featuring company celebrity spokesman Brooke Burke, the games sold more than 2 million copies, placing them as one of the top selling games along with an another Xbox 360 hit, Gears of War.[89] These innovative ad campaigns, coupled with other new promotions and a series of new product introductions, drew considerable positive and negative attention to BK and helped TPG and its partners realize about $367 million in dividends.[90][91][92]

Logos

Evolution of the company logo

Original Burger King text logo from 1958 

Vintage Burger King "sitting king" logo (1957–1960) 

Original "bun halves" logo (1969–1994) 

Revised "bun halves" logo (1994–1999)


Current "blue crescent" logo (1999–present) 

Alternate version of the Sitting King logo used until 1968


The first logo that Burger King used is identified simply as the Sitting King logo; the first version of the Burger King character is shown sitting atop the of the sign holding a beverage. The sign has several versions, with the King either sitting atop a hamburger or on an inverted trapezoid with the company name along the top and its motto Home of the Whopper below it; some signs did not include the King and only had the inverted trapezoid. This logo was used in one form or another until 1969 when the famous Burger King "bun halves" logo made its debut, and has continued in one form or another until the current day. As implied by its name, the logo is meant to resemble a hamburger; the logo had two orange semi-circular "buns" surrounding the name, which was the "meat" of the logo. In 1994 BK updated the logo with a graphical tightening, replacing the aging "bulging" font with a smoother font with rounded edges. In addition, all secondary signing, such as roof and directional signs, was also updated with new rounded font.

In 1999, BK again revised its logo. The new Burger King logo is a stylized version of the original "bun halves" logo. BK changed the color of the restaurant's name from red to burgundy, while leaving them sandwiched between two yellow bun halves. The new logo also tilts the bun halves and the font on an axis, has a smaller "bun" motif and wraps the burger with a blue crescent whipping around the buns giving it a more circular appearance. Most restaurants did not acquire newer signs with the new logo, menus, and drive-thru ordering speakers until 2001. Again all secondary signage was updated with the new logo and sharp type face, and all sign posts were repainted to match the blue coloring of the new crescent from their original black.[93][94]

International variations

Hungry Jack's revised and current "bun halves" logo 

Current logo in Arabic. Note that the logo is read from right to left.


The Hungry Jack's logo is based on the Burger King "bun halves" design. HJ currently uses a variation of the second generation "bun halves" logo, featuring the smoother font used in the Burger King logo from 1994. Currently, the only region that BK uses a non-Latin text logo is in the Middle East. In those Arabic speaking countries the logo is mirrored and uses Arabic characters; otherwise the logo is identical to the "blue crescent" logo used in the west.

International operations

Camp Liberty, Iraq AAFES location 

Leicester Square, London 

Shinjuku, Tokyo 

Seoul, South Korea


Złote Tarasy, Warsaw 

Cologne, Germany 

Oslo, Norway 

Chalco, Mexico City


Princes Street, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
Countries with Burger King restaurants:
 
Countries with Burger King restaurants
Key:
Red: Current BK countries
Orange: Former BK countries
Yellow: Hungry Jack's countries


Burger King has a longstanding presence at U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force installations worldwide, dating back to the 1980s under a contract with Army and Air Force Exchange Service. Today, while other chains such as Taco Bell, Popeye's and Subway have a presence on military bases, virtually every major Army and Air Force installation hosts a BK restaurant.[2]
Countries currently with Burger King locations Afghanistan - AAFES
 Andorra
 Argentina
 Austria
 Australia - known as Hungry Jack's
 Bahamas
 Bahrain
 Bolivia
 Bosnia and Herzegovina
 Brazil
 Bulgaria
 Canada
 Colombia - Reentered March 2008
 Chile
 People's Republic of China (汉堡王) 
 Hong Kong (漢堡王)
 Costa Rica
 Cyprus
 Denmark
 Dominican Republic
 Ecuador
 Egypt
 El Salvador
 Faroe Islands
 Georgia
 Germany
 Guatemala Guyana
 Honduras
 Hungary
 Iceland
 India
 Indonesia
 Iraq - AAFES
 Ireland
 Israel
 Italy
 Jamaica
 Japan
 Jordan
 Kazakhstan
 Kuwait
 Lebanon
 Malaysia
 Malta
 Mexico
 Netherlands 
 Aruba
 Netherlands Antilles 
 Curaçao
 Sint Maarten
 New Zealand
 Nicaragua
 Norway Panama
 Paraguay
 Peru
 Philippines
 Poland
 Portugal
 Romania
 Qatar
 South Korea
 Saudi Arabia (برغر كينغ)
 Singapore
 Serbia
 Spain
 Saint Lucia
 Sweden
 Switzerland
 Republic of China
 Thailand
 Trinidad and Tobago
 Turkey
 United Arab Emirates
 United Kingdom 
 Cayman Islands
 United States 
 Guam
 Puerto Rico
 Uruguay
 Venezuela

Countries formerly with Burger King restaurants
 Australia - Burger King branded restaurants operated 1997-2003 violating franchise agreements, sold and rebranded to Australian Burger King franchise Hungry Jack's following legal action
 Finland - Burger King operated in Helsinki for a short period in 1980s
 France - Burger King decided to leave France in 1997 and closed their 39 French outlets in 1998
 Greece - Burger King operated in Greece for a short period in the early 1990s
 United States Virgin Islands - Burger King left both St. Croix and St. Thomas in 1997
 Ukraine - Burger King operated in Kiev for a short period in 2006.
 Oman - Burger King decided to leave Oman in 2001