You can’t always have it your way.
In whopping news, while King Charles III celebrates his coronation, Burger King has announced it will close 400 stores, but not all is what it seems.
Initially, Burger King CEO Josh Kobza, who is only in his third month at the gig and should just simply be called The Burger King, announced to investors this week that they will close approximately 400 locations in the United States by the end of this year. He also said they have already closed 124 locations thus far in 2023.
As McDonald’s is likely lovin’ it, Wendy’s has yet to take to Twitter to give their normally saucy response. However, as the news spreads, Burger King might actually be in very good shape and, unlike King Charles III who now has to deal with a phallic lawn design at his coronation, Burger King has no such pricks to worry about.
Back in 2014, Burger King purchased Tim Hortons — a very successful restaurant chain in Canada — and it has reported growth of 16% just in the first quarter of this year. Last September, Burger King announced they will be investing $400 million over the next two years in numerous aspects of their company, including advertising and renovating many of their restaurants.
So far, the results are positive, with Kobza reporting that Burger King sales in the United States rose over 8% this quarter, exceeding expectations. He also noted that the reason for all of the store closures, which will be double the normal amount this year (BK usually closes 200 stores a year), is to shut down the locations that are losing money and overall hurting the company.
So, the downsizing is not a sign that the company overall is doing poorly. In fact, it appears that the self-proclaimed King of Burgers is doing quite well as it continues to try and live up to its name.
Last year, the company received significant backlash when they gifted a retiring worker of 27 years, who never missed a day of work, what was essentially a goody bag. The story received so much attention that the public responded and collectively donated over $300,000 to a gofundme page set up for the retiree.
As Burger King is now experiencing success, let’s hope they take care of retirees with something more than just a goody bag.