Burger King Nixes $1 Dbl Cheeseburger After 2nd No Vote
July 13 2009 - 4:28PM
Dow Jones News
Burger King Holdings Inc. (BKC) has scrapped plans to sell its
double cheeseburger for $1 in the U.S. after franchisees voted down
the proposal a second time, according to two franchisees.
Burger King has been trying to push through the limited time
promotion in hopes of attracting customers searching out value and
woo customers from the likes of McDonald's Corp. (MCD)
The company's initial proposal to sell the burger for $1 for
four months was shot down in a vote of store operators last
Wednesday. On Friday, franchisees voted down a modified plan to run
the offer for just six-weeks this summer. The results of the vote
were delivered to franchisees in an audio recording.
Franchisees were concerned that their profits would be squeezed
by selling the double cheeseburger at about half the price it is in
many markets, especially since the ingredients cost more than
Burger King's other $1 sandwich, the Whopper Jr. Others had fretted
that another significant discounted sandwich would encourage even
more trade down from higher-priced items.
Burger King representatives were not immediately available for
comment, although a spokeswoman had previously said that various
product and menu strategies were always under consideration.
Burger King shares rose recently 23 cents, or 1.5%, to
$16.52.
-By Paul Ziobro, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2194;
paul.ziobro@dowjones.com