Burger King rolling out local facelift

Burger King rolling out local facelift

Mr Tanawat, left, introducing Asia's first all-new store at the Shell petrol station near CentralWestgate on Kanchanaphisek Road.
Mr Tanawat, left, introducing Asia's first all-new store at the Shell petrol station near CentralWestgate on Kanchanaphisek Road.

Burger Thailand, the authorised operator of Burger King in Thailand, has revamped its brand image for the first time in 20 years, targeting changing consumer demands.

Tanawat Damnernthong, the company's general manager, said part of the brand's upgrade involves opening Asia's first concept store at the Shell service station on Kanchanaphisek Road in Nonthaburi tomorrow.

This new Burger King is a standalone branch equipped with a drive-through service.

The purpose of this image adjustment is also to make Burger King more attractive to younger generations, said Mr Tanawat, adding the company expects all Burger King branches in Thailand will adopt the new image by 2030.

The new Burger King brand image was first introduced in the US in the fourth quarter of last year.

In addition to the image refresh and introduction of a new logo, Mr Tanawat said Burger King in Thailand will also change staff uniforms, packaging, social media communications, as well as various marketing assets.

The company expects this change will not only attract social media attention but also pave the way for Thai Burger King branches to expand their customer base to a wider range of new customers, especially teenagers and college students who comprise the bulk of social media users.

According to Mr Tanawat, Burger Thailand plans to continue expanding its business by opening 5-10 new branches this year. It opened only three new branches last year, bringing total branch numbers to 114 in 2020.

"We were not severely impacted by the fresh wave of the pandemic because we have already experienced this and know how to continue our business. There is still opportunity for Burger King [in Thailand] because the number of our branches remains low compared with our rivals. If we open more branches, opportunities to access new customers will increase," he said.

By pursuing these strategies, Mr Tanawat expects sales this year will be back to pre-crisis levels in 2019 at 2 billion baht.

Last year, the firm experienced a double-digit fall, but the precise figures were not disclosed.

Takeaway orders generated 50% of the firm's sales in 2020, with 25% each from delivery and dine-in. In 2019, dine-in generated 50%, with takeaway at 35% and delivery at 15%.

In 2020, Thailand's overall burger business was estimated at 10 billion baht, up 2% from the previous year.

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