Burger King expanding in China

Burger King plans to open six more restaurants in Beijing by June 2010, as part of a major expansion in China, where it has been present since 2005. The company, which has 25 outlets on the mainland, officially has just opened its first restaurant in downtown Beijing, the 12,000th restaurant of the company worldwide.

John Chidsey, Chairman and Chief Executive of Burger King Holdings said: "We intend to be on a similar scale to our competitors, certainly a heck of a lot bigger than we are today.”

Speculation earlier this year said McDonald's had slowed down its expansion in China because of the economic downturn. Chidsey said Burger King’s expansion is independent from the economic circumstances as it is starting from a low base compared to its competitor McDonald’s. Chidsey said: "We believe that high quality locations like this encourage people who come here to spread the word about the brand. It is also difficult for our competitors to move into new developments like this since they have a number of stores in the area already and would just be cannibalising their own customers."

Burger King declared it is focusing its attention to consumers under 30, offering products adapted to local tastes as with the recently introduced Mala Whopper, a spicier version of its hamburger.

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