Burger King invests €60 million in 60 restaurants and creates over 2000 jobs
RBI Iberia, the master franchiser of the brand in the Portuguese market, wants to equal the number of spaces of its competitors this year.
It’s the year of the biggest growth for Burger King in the domestic market. “We expect that 2021 will be the year of the largest growth in the history of Burger King in Portugal – we want to exceed 170 restaurants and match the competition,” Maria Jimenez, director of franchises RBI Iberia, tells ECO. “This year we will invest over €30 million in more than 30 restaurants and we will create over 1,000 jobs”, she adds. An amount they expect to repeat next year. “Between 2021 and 2022 we intend to open around 60 restaurants, with an investment of more than €60 million and the creation of over 2,000 jobs,” she says.
The fast-food chain has been focusing on the national market for three years, with the rate of openings speeding up: between 2018 and 2020 the chain opened 33 restaurants, both by the hand of Ibersol (which has had an agreement since 2017) and through the opening of its own spaces by the RBI master franchisee. “In 2019, two were opened and in 2020, nine. In 2021, eight have already been opened, of which seven are RBI’s,” Maria Jimenez states.
Successful balance of the operation, despite the pandemic
“The balance of the Burger King operation in Portugal is very positive and we have a very ambitious expansion plan in the short and medium-term, because we believe Portugal is a market with a lot of potential,” says the franchising director of RBI Iberia.
Expansion plans despite the pandemic and its impact on the restaurant sector. “For 2021 and in the coming years, the aim is to continue the development and growth of our brands, both in owned and franchised restaurants. We expect that 2021 will be the year of the largest growth in the history of Burger King in Portugal – we want to exceed 170 restaurants and match the competition,” she says. In two years, the value of investment should exceed €60 million.
“The restaurant sector has been one of the most affected by the pandemic, but our results have not fallen as much as the industry average and this is due to sustained recognition in recent years and the development of alternative channels for restaurants, such as drive-in and delivery,” says Maria Jimenez. “We are confident in the future and believe in the business potential in Portugal. We will continue to open more restaurants to reach more locations and consumers,” she states.
“The pandemic has reinforced the decision we already made a few years ago to focus on the freestanding model, that allows us to integrate sales channels such as Auto or delivery,” Maria Jimenez explains.
A strategy that they have been implementing with Burger King’s openings and the same one they will carry out with the arrival of Popeyes – a fast-food chain specialised in chicken – in which they expect to invest over €50 million in 40 new restaurants by 2022, creating one thousand new jobs, as ECO has reported.
