Why Are Burger King Restaurants Closing? | Real Reason Behind It

Whether it is a change in the name from Insta-Burger to Burger King or a change in the market strategies, Burger King has faced different challenges and has been trying to survive in the market since the beginning. 

Today, Burger King is one of the most well-known fast food chains in the USA and the world. But with a big name comes great controversy. There have been some different rumors about BK every now and then. The most recent one is the closing of Burger King Restaurants. 

Burger King restaurants have faced a wave of closures in recent years, primarily due to fierce competition in the fast-food industry, the pandemic, and shifting consumer preferences.

However, despite such causes, Burger King is not completely shutting down its outlets; instead, many campaigns are going on to lure customers.

Today we will dig into all the possible reasons why many Burger King outlets were shut down and clear all the fog from the information. Stay tuned for the amazing information at the end. 

Is Burger King Really Closing? 

No, Burger King is not really closing. Many rumors have led people to believe that Burger King is officially shutting down. One of the greatest reasons which fired up the rumor was Burger King’s franchise TOMs King Holdings. 

As per Eat This Not That, TOMs King Holdings has many BK outlets in Northern America. When they suddenly decided to sell out 90 outlets of its current holdings, it gave everyone the idea that something was off about Burger King outlets.

Before this significant event, Burger King was in the negative limelight. As per Restaurants Clicks, Burger King was accused of tax evasion that badly impacted its reputation. The controversy directly impacted sales, again making everyone believe that Burger King may go for good this time. 

In 2020, when Burger King announced to shut off of its 250 outlets, it was apparent that the numbers may go up drastically.

Another incident that led to much criticism about BK was when it announced a scholarship for female chefs with a tagline: “women belong to the kitchen.” 

BK had also offended the religious sentiment of Catholics while marketing their vegetarian burger. All these incidents led to a boycott of BK by the people.

As I have already mentioned, Burger King is not really closing, but a few outlets were shut down for some reason, which started this rumor, which was completely untrue.

Now, as we know that Burger King is going nowhere, let’s find out all the possible reasons why many of its outlets were shut down suddenly and if the same is going to happen in the future as well.

Why Are So Many Burger Kings Shutting Down?

1. TOM King Holdings Bold Decision 

TOM King Holdings had a maximum of its BK outlet in Northern America. In 2018, it suddenly decided to sell out around 90 outlets of its current holdings. 

The outlets which were shut down were mainly in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio, and Illinois. The reason behind such a vast downfall was inflation in the past and the inability to meet the profit margin.

Most of the outlets were unable to cover the expenses. As a result, the franchise decided to close most of its outlets, which could not gain profits. 

2. Pandemic 

As the pandemic hit everyone, Burger King also had a considerable impact. Unlike its competitors, BK could not earn much profit during the pandemic.

Even after the pandemic, when the other fast food chains started to market and attract customers back, Burger King had a hard time as the post-pandemic recovery was prolonged, so it failed to increase the foot counts when other restaurants had already started to make significant profits.

3. Unwanted Controversies 

Burger King could not keep its hands away from unwanted controversies, which resulted in negative marketing. The major case happened when Burger King announced buying out the coffee chain Tom Hortins. 

Many people claim that Burger King is trying to practice tax evasion, as Tom Hortins has lower tax rates on revenue elsewhere because of being a Canadian company. 

The main idea of Burger King was to showcase the positive side of supporting a business that soon was running out of the industry, but people had their own points of view. 

4. Competition and closing the gaps

Another reason why many Burger King outlets shut down was because BK wanted to close the gaps between themselves and McDonald’s. 

As per an article by RBI, Burger King suddenly announced closing around 250 outlets in the USA to fill the gap. 

BK claimed that these outlets had meager sales. Instead of running the lower revenue-generating outlets, they wanted to open outlets at a different location with better foot counts and sales. 

However, the closing of 250 outlets did not happen at once; instead, they were closed during the agreement renewal or termination period.  

5. Backfiring of campaigns

Talking about competitors, BK has always tried to get back on McDonald’s, for which it also launched a campaign with the tagline – no one is happy all the time,” which focused on mental health and targeted McDonald’s. 

Instead of getting positive attention, BK was criticized for the campaign as it did not keep the campaign around the main topic, mental health, and focused more on McDonald’s. 

As per CNBC, many were upset as BK took such a crucial topic just to target McDonald’s and make some profits. 

6. Inflation

Many of BK’s franchises could not meet the expenses because of the sudden surge in inflation. The cost of running the outlet surpassed the revenue because the lower sales led to major losses. This resulted in the closing of many Burger King outlets. 

 Reasons Behind Lower sales at Burger King?

Burger King has experienced a sudden fall in foot counts, which resulted in lower sales. This made many franchises shut their outlets. Let’s see the primary reasons behind the downfall :

1. Failed Strategy

Burger King always tried to meet the expectations of their customers. Still, instead of adding new items that would excite the customers to return for more, BK indulged itself in introducing special occasion menu items. 

The ideal example of a failed strategy is Halloween’s “Nightmare Burger.” The Nightmare Burger did excite the people but had nothing special to offer. Similarly, Burger King has tried many tactics but could not keep their customers longer.

2. Negative Customer Experience

Now, if any business wants to survive, the most crucial step is to get positive customer feedback. But Burger King has faced many negative comments online and offline from their poor customer service. 

As per a user on Reddit, the quality of BK has fallen to the floor. Another user mentioned that BK has under-skilled staff, which is impacting the quality of food at BK. 

3. Inability to fulfil the promises

Burger King regained its popularity with the launch of the Impossible whopper, which targeted vegan and vegetarian customers. 

The burger marketing claimed that the Impossible burger had a plant-based patty and no meat content. However, BK faced much criticism when it was found that the plant-based patty was cooked on the same broiler as the meat patty. 

BK’s Impossible whopper was very promising but failed due to a little mess in the process. 

Will Burger King Close In The Near Future? 

No! Whether it is a lower sales count at many locations or negative feedback, Burger King will not fade away in thin air like this. Burger King has always tried to cope with its competitors and serve their customers with their best services. 

There is no doubt that Burger King has failed at various times, but still, BK has been investing a lot of time, money, and effort to make itself stand among the top fast-food chains worldwide. 

BK is still experimenting with the strategy like introducing celebrity meals or exclusive deals and offers to grab the attention. So there is no time soon when Burger King will decide to quit. 

Many would debate on Burger King vs. Popeyes or compare BK’s burger with Wendy’s as they compete. The biggest competitor of BK is obviously McDonald’s, and if you want to know which is better, follow the link.

Conclusion

All of Burger King’s fans can take a sigh of relief as BK is still functioning at most of the locations. There might be chances that your nearest outlets have shut down because of the above reasons, but don’t worry, as BK plans to open new outlets soon (I hope so). 

I hope you enjoyed reading these little pieces of interesting information. We will be back with more such conversations soon. Until then, order some hash browns from BK!

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