Burger King Opens Independent Concept Store
09 November 2012
Burger King, the world’s second largest fast-food hamburger chain, has opened a company-owned “concept” store at ION Orchard in Singapore. The store, said to be the first of four to six such stores the company will open in the next six months, is independent of its Bonfoods franchisee. Bonfoods is a division of mainboard-listed Bonvests Holdings.
News reports say that Burger King is using the new outlet to test new concepts, including changes to the chain’s standard menu, a new look and personalised sound zones, which diners can use to listen to their iPods through individual speakers.
Peter Tan, Asia Pacific president of Burger King, told Channel NewsAsia that “customers have become just way too sophisticated that if we’re not keeping up with them – and even more importantly leading them – we’re going to be behind the eight ball.”
Tan said the company-owned store was a logical step for the company. “The onus for us as brand operators, as brand owners, is really to always be on the lookout and be in the leading edge for innovation,” he said. “If you look at any of the quick service restaurant operators, there is always a need to have a certain percentage of companyowned stores because it’s so critically important to have these stores where they become the base for centres of excellence,” he told Channel NewsAsia.
