WHOPPER OF A GOAL; BURGER KING'S CEO RUNS TO OVERTAKE MCDONALD'S.Byline: Elaine Walker Elaine Walker is the mayor of Bowling Green, Kentucky, as of 2006. Prior to Election Walker and her husband, Dorian, moved to the Bowling Green area from California in 1994. Knight Ridder
Knight Ridder (IPA: /ˈrɪdɚ/) was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. Newspapers Whether he's jetting around the globe visiting restaurants or racing up the escalator escalator Moving staircase used as transportation between floors or levels in stores, airports, subways, and other mass pedestrian areas. The name was first applied to a moving stairway shown at the Paris Exposition of 1900. at company headquarters in Miami, Burger King Chief Executive Officer Dennis Malamatinas isn't going to slow down until he wins the burger battle. Malamatinas has big plans for the world's second-largest hamburger chain, and there's no time to waste. The first goal: dethroning McDonald's as the hamburger king in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . Malamatinas is confident that within five to seven years Burger King can have more restaurants in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. and higher average sales per store than the competition. ``I want it all, and I want it now,'' said Malamatinas, 44, a charismatic leader, who during two years at the helm of the fast-food chain is credited with building its reputation as a global brand. Burger King has been on a roll for the past five years. It has beaten all other hamburger chains in sales growth. At the same time, its market share of hamburger sales has jumped from 17.2 percent in 1993 to 21.9 percent, and profits had been climbing. McDonald's failures accounted for part of Burger King's growth in market share. Not anymore. McDonald's has straightened out its operations and introduced a new cooking system to accommodate special orders. Profits are climbing again. The changing marketplace is already showing up on Burger King's bottom line, where companywide profits are down, along with sales at many North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. restaurants. ``McDonald's was in a downward spiral, and Burger King definitely capitalized on that,'' said Andy Speller spell·er n. 1. One who spells words: students who are good spellers. 2. An elementary textbook containing exercises that teach spelling. Noun 1. , a restaurant industry analyst with A.G. Edwards in St. Louis. ``Now everyone is on even footing, and it makes it tougher. It's always easier to pick up share when the No. 1 guy is falling.'' While Malamatinas' enthusiasm can be both contagious and inspiring, analysts say his goals will be difficult, if not impossible, to achieve. McDonald's has a commanding lead: almost 2-1/2 times more restaurants around the world than Burger King. The picture is only slightly better in the United States, where Burger King's 8,000 restaurants are outgunned by 12,500. The best chance for the home of the Whopper Whopper - WarGames to catch its rival may be in average unit sales unit sales Sales measured in terms of physical units rather than dollars. Unit sales data are often used by financial analysts when evaluating the health of a company. . The average Burger King restaurant rings up annual sales of $1.1 million, and the company's goal is to boost that to $1.6 million, passing McDonald's $1.5 million average. ``A strategy of going head-to-head with McDonald's is going to be tough because McDonald's is so big and powerful,'' said Patrick Schumann, a restaurant analyst with Edward Jones Edward, Eddie, or Ed Jones is the name of: Edward Jones:
Even Malamatinas, the eternal optimist, knows he has his work cut out for him. That's why he revealed an ambitious plan last month to transform every aspect from the decor and the logo to the cooking process and the drive-through service. It's all designed to improve the consistency and speed of service. Malamatinas bristles at any suggestion that the move is a defensive tactic motivated by McDonald's, which last year began installing its new Made for You cooking system. Burger King's transformation program has been in the works for several years, company executives said. ``McDonald's is just trying to do what we've been doing for 40 years,'' Malamatinas said. ``We're always on the offensive. Why be defensive when you're winning? We've been outperforming the competition. Nobody else has been able to replicate the great taste of the Whopper. We know we have a competitive edge. Now we're going to enlarge it.'' CAPTION(S): 2 Photos PHOTO (1--Color) Burger King's top executive, Dennis Malamatinas, above, carries a tray of food at a store in Miami. Al Diaz/Knight Ridder Newspapers (2--Color) A computer controls temperatures to cook and tend food. Burger King is installing the new system nationwide. Charles Trainor Jr./Knight Ridder Newspapers |
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