Select an option below to continue reading this premium story.
Already a Honolulu Star-Advertiser subscriber? Log in now to continue reading.
Burger King plans to double its number of stores in Japan as McDonald’s Corp. tries to recover from losses after a series of food scandals there.
The maker of the Whopper sandwich will expand its 98 stores to 200 by the end of 2017, and forecasts sales to grow 15 percent this year after they rose by a fifth in 2015, Burger King Japan CEO Yasuyuki Murao said. Although Ontario, Canada-based Restaurant Brands International Inc. owns Burger King, South Korea’s Lotteria Co. holds the Japan operating license for the brand.
“It would be a tough battle if we compete head-to-head with McDonald’s running more than 3,000 outlets, but it’s the time for us to grow when our larger rival is having a tough time,” said Murao, a 30-year veteran of McDonald’s Japan before he left in 2012. He became head of Burger King Japan in 2014.
Burger King, which has struggled to catch on in Asia’s second-largest economy, has reason to see an opening. Losses at McDonald’s Japan widened almost 60 percent to $304 million last year as incidents such as foreign objects found in food turned off diners, prompting the company to close stores, cut jobs and introduce new items to its menu.
