BK aims for bigger bite

KUALA LUMPUR: The recent investment by Ekuiti Nasional Bhd (Ekuinas) will see the Burger King (BK) franchise in Peninsular Malaysia, owned by Cosmo Restaurants Sdn Bhd, close the gap to competing fastfood retailers.

The government-linked private equity firm explained it was eager to buy into BK as it is hungry to sink its teeth into the RM5 billion local food and beverage (F&B) industry.

This industry's revenue is predicted to balloon to RM6 billion by 2015.

Ekuinas senior director of investments Amil Izham Hamzah said: “BK will allows us to have a bigger play in the F&B industry and with an existing brand, we don't have to start from scratch.

“Internationally, it is the number two fastfood brand and our market research has also show that BK's products are far superior - from its ingredients to its signature flame-grilled meats.”

Ekuinas is also banking on the fact that Malaysia's majority young and fast growing urban population, will gravitate to quick service restaurants.

The quick service concept, the company says, will cater to the on-the-go needs of their target audience while providing more than just fast food.

“We want BK to become a place where people can enjoy the experience, rather than just to eat and go quickly while still receiving fast service,” said Amil who is in charge of the F&B segment of the firm.

In addition, the firm believes the F&B industry to be recession-proof.

Following Ekuinas' RM68.2 million investment in September last year, BK has been focusing on two main philosophies to raise its game – "Fast & Friendly" and "Hot & Fresh".

BK's newly appointed chief operating officer Ahmad Fariz Hassan said: “'Fast & Friendly' is where we emphasise on quality of service from welcoming customers with a warm smile and a polite greeting to accurate and fast service.”

BK is also training their staff to meet their 2½ minutes service time from the moment a customer places an order to receiving their food.

With a timer attached to each cashier, the team is given 45 seconds to take an order, 75 seconds for food preparation and 35 seconds to serve.

"Hot & Fresh", on the other hand, brings the spotlight on made-to-order foods.

Fariz said that all orders are made on the spot and never precooked or microwaved.

Reinforcing its focus on the F&B industry, less than six months after buying into BK, Ekuinas has further bought into another main franchisee.

Just last month, it spent RM64.7 million for a controlling stake in Revenue Valley Sdn Bhd - which owns the Manhattan Fish Market, Tony Roma's Malaysia and Popeyes.

This gave it control over 97 outlets - spread across Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand - with a combined revenue of almost RM200 million.

* The second part of this exclusive interview will be published on Thursday.