Fast food chain Burger King opened its first official Belgian store in Antwerp today. Several Belgian Quick restaurants will be transformed into a Burger King, but both chains will co-exist.
Seven stores in 2017
Burger King’s first Belgian store has opened its doors in a former Quick location, next to the movie theater Kinepolis Antwerpen. “The movie theater location is an opportunity for us, with a grand location and a drive-in”, Burger Brands Belgium’s CEO, Kevin Derycke, said. His company owns the Belgian license for Burger King and Quick.
The second location will open next week in Charleroi’s Rive Gauche shopping center and the third will be in Namur’s train station. These two are brand-new locations and will not replace a Quick restaurant. By the end of the year, Burger King hopes to have seven locations and sixty to seventy within the next five years.
Current franchisees
Burger Brands Belgium wants to expand to 140 – 150 restaurants over the next five to six years, spread across Burger King and Quick. That would be a remarkable feat (nearly + 50 %) in a market that only grows 1 % every year.
It counts on its current franchisees to achieve that growth. The new Burger King in Antwerp is still managed by the old Quick franchisee. “The transformation into Burger King required a 1.2 million euro investment, which I will have to earn back with increased turnover. A Burger King should attract more customers, because of its well-known brand name. It should definitely appeal a movie theater audience like Metropolis’ visitors”, franchisee René Korfmaker said.
