QUESTION 1 CASE:Burger King In 2016 Burger King Worldwide (referred to hereafter as Burger King) was the worlds largest flamebroiled fast-food hamburger chain. Beginning in the early 1960s the company expanded internationally to the Bahamas and Puerto Rico. Then it entered Europe, Asia, and Latin America in the 1970s. Some of its international moves turned out to be highly successful, and a few did not. In seeking new places to enter, Burger King looks most favourably at countries with large populations (especially young people), high consumption of beef, availability of capital to franchisees for growth, a safe pro-business environment, growth in shopping centres, and availability of a potential franchisee with experience and resources. Recently its model has been to grant franchise rights by pairing a private equity firm with an experienced restaurant operator in a joint venture (JV). In some cases, Burger King has become the third party in the JV without committing capital to it. The possibilities in the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries are too great to ignore. Burger King opened its first Brazilian and Chinese restaurants in 2004. While Burger King has had success in both these countries, it has been able to expand much faster in the former due largely to its recognition advantage in Brazil. Burger Kings recent growth in its U.S. and Canada region has lagged its growth elsewhere. Burger King is planning unprecedented expansion. The fact that some of its competitors have expanded abroad much more than Burger King may indicate that it has untapped international potential. (a) Discuss the risks that an international restaurant company such as Burger King would have by operating abroad rather than just domestically. (10 marks) (b) How has Burger Kings headquarters location influenced its international expansion? Has this location strengthened or weakened its global competitive position? (10 marks) Total: 20 marks