Concept store plan for Burger King

KUALA LUMPUR: Burger King (BK) Malaysia will also open its fi rst ever concept store by next month or April in the Klang Valley, giving customers a chance to witness the burger making process live.

Without revealing too much prior to the launch, Ekuiti Nasional Bhd (Ekuinas) chief operating offi cer Ahmad Fariz Hassan said: “While the exact location will be revealed only during our official launch, customers can be sure to expect an upscale market dining experience. “For this reason, the outlet will not have a drivethrough feature.”

Nevertheless, drive-through and home delivery services will be a focus point for BK as they cater for urban areas.

“We have observed that Malaysians are consumers on-the-go who place a high value on convenience. Thus we have decided to focus our eff orts in meeting their needs with our drive through and home delivery services.”

Ambiance is another aspect Ekuinas is taking seriously for its Burger King franchise, moving away from plastic chairs, dimly-lit outlets or black and white tiles.

The new image resembles a lounge-like setting with wide glass panels where natural light casts a bright glow giving rise to a modern chic fl avour — dubbed the “Burger King 2020” look.

With already 20 outlets sporting the new look, BK has plans to upgrade their remaining seven outlets this year — which are concentrated in the Klang Valley, Penang and Johor Baru.

One of BK’s main challenges is its lack of visibility and awareness with only 27 outlets in Peninsular Malaysia.

Ekuinas has the BK franchise only for Peninsular Malaysia, excluding the KL International Airport outlet and those in East Malaysia.

Senior director of investments Amil Izham Hamzah said: “Right now, customers would pass a number of competitors before arriving at out outlet.

“That’s why one of our main strategies is to open 10 to 15 outlets every year for the next five years.”

Since the investment by Ekuinas last year, BK has opened four new outlets in fi ve months, with several more in the pipeline soon.


Tapping new promotion strategies

FOR its Burger King franchise, Ekuiti Nasional Bhd (Ekuinas) has conducted a market study to better know the target market and found many are accessible via Facebook.

“Our target market is urbancentered, made up of heavy Internet users. So, we have rolled out a number of social network promotions as the channel off ers targeted marketing,” said chief operating officer Ahmad Fariz Hassan.

The “Bkrazy” Facebook campaign last year from Dec 19 to Jan 8 has been their most successful promotion to date.

The promotion saw BK giving out RM1 coupons redeemable for various items on their menu. As a result, sales shot up by 50% during the promotion period.

Admitting that some may see its menu as being unimaginative, largely composed of fl ame-grilled and fries, senior director of investments Amil Izham Hamzah believes this is in fact BK’s strength.

With healthy foods becoming a big trend in the F&B industry BK is proud of its fl ame-grilled patties — claiming these to be a healthier food option.

Fariz explains: “Each burger patty usually contains an average of 18% fat. When grilled, most of the fat drips off the meat — leaving the meat almost fat-free.

“BK also off ers a ‘have it your way’ policy where customers can decide what they want in their burger, thus giving them an option to exclude toppings and sauces they feel are unhealthy.”

US parent, Burger King Corp, is already off ering a number of healthy options including wraps and chicken breast meat — items that BK Malaysia is looking to leverage on.

“BK Corp has a number of innovative products such as the Mexican Crunch product line that we introduced locally in January. We have yet to tap into the full strength of BK Corp’s product off ering and knowledge base.”

Ekuinas also aims to localise a number of BK items to expand the product off ering.

The Malaysian public can look forward to new addition on the menu in the second half of the year as product development takes approximately six months, Fariz explained.

With all these plans in place, Ekuinas has set a revenue growth target for BK at 8-10% this year.