Elaine Walker, The Miami Herald –
Burger King has set its sites on Russia as the next international target for aggressive expansion.
The Miami fast food chain on Wednesday is set to announce a deal for a joint venture partnership focused on opening several hundred Burger King restaurants over the next few years in this emerging market. Exact terms of the deal with BKW, Burger Rus, already the company’s largest franchisee in Russia, and VTB Capital, a leading Russian investment bank, were not disclosed.
The joint venture will have the exclusive rights to develop the Burger King brand in Russia. Burger Rus already has opened 54 Burger King restaurants in Russia over the last 30 months.
“We believe there is tremendous opportunity to rapidly increase our market share in Russia’s fast-growing and underpenetrated quick-service restaurant sector. said José Cil, Burger King’s president of Europe Middle East Asia Pacific. “Today’s announcement is a great example of our company’s strategy to accelerate international expansion by creating master franchisee agreements with strong local partners in high-growth markets.”
The partnership with Burger Rus and VTB Capital is part of a larger effort by Burger King to focus on growing the brand internationally, which started last year with a similar joint venture in Brazil.
