Burger King flips to new upmarket look

Fast food giant Burger King is to revamp its 12,000 restaurants worldwide to give them an upmarket feel, it announced today.

New interiors will include rotating red flame chandeliers, TV-screen menus and industrial-inspired corrugated metal and brick walls.

“I’d call it more contemporary, edgy, futuristic,” chairman and chief executive John Chidsey said. “It feels so much more like an upscale restaurant.”

The new look is expected to cost franchisees, who operate 90% of Burger King’s locations, between $300,000 (€204,000) to $600,000 (€409,000) per restaurant.

The company said the new design, called “20/20” is already in place at about 60 locations around the world. Burger King expects about 75 more redesigned restaurants to be open by the end of next year. But it will take years before all its locations are transformed.

Burger King franchise owners are contractually required to update their restaurants after a set period of time, and executives said the redesign will be the primary option for future upgrades. All new restaurants will be built using the plan.

So far, remodelled restaurants have seen sales climb about 12 to 15%, while restaurants that are torn down and completely rebuilt at the same location have seen sales climb by as much as 30%, Mr Chidsey said.

Observers say the hip, urban and masculine elements in the redesign may be a hit with Burger King’s most loyal customers – young men who frequent the chain known as much for its signature Whoppers and “steak burgers” as its sometimes-creepy “King” commercials. But some experts are sceptical about whether sales will grow as much as the company claims and how eager franchise owners will be to part with that kind of cash, particularly in a sour economy.

Mr Chidsey said he thinks most franchise owners, who typically own both their restaurant’s building and the land, will not have trouble obtaining financing and will be swayed once they see how sales can climb.

Fast-food restaurants typically get almost two-thirds of their business from drive-through or take out orders. More appealing interiors could help the company compete with sit-down counterparts that many customers think offer better food and better ambience.

They might also help Burger King stand out from larger rival McDonald’s and other competitors, including regional chains

While the most noticeable changes will be inside restaurants, Burger King also plans to update exteriors, too, adding metal canopies and more signs proclaiming “Home of the Whopper”.