Catolica lisbon – School of Business and Economics Burger King in Portugal To lead or to follow? Sara Saraiva Patrone | Number 152110048 Advisor: Professor Mario Valente Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of MSc in Business Administration, at the Universidade Catolica Portuguesa, June 2012 Burger King in Portugal – To lead or to follow? Abstract Title: Burger King in Portugal. To lead or to follow? Author: Sara Saraiva Patrone In 2001, the Burger King (BK) brand, managed by Ibersol group entered the growing fast food Portuguese market.Marginally higher prices along with the fact of having entered the market 10 years after its most direct competitor (McDonald? s), led BK to a sub leader position. Although being recognized as offering superior quality products when compared to McDonald? s, BK? s growth margins in the Portuguese market have been decreasing since 2007. The company? s uncertainty situation, offers the possibility of discussing positioning alternatives and strategic choices in business strategy and marketing courses. Besides the case study, the dissertation includes a literature review of frameworks and concepts used to evaluate company? internal and external environment. Finally, teaching notes proposes an approach to the case that might be used to guide class discussion or stimulate its preparation. From the case analysis, the competition analysis and recent Portuguese economic situation, this dissertation proposes a set of concrete actions to reverse the current positioning and brand growth. ________________________________________________________________________________________ Resumo Titulo: Burger King em Portugal. Lider ou seguidor?Autor: Sara Saraiva Patrone Em 2001, a marca Burger King (BK) detida pelo grupo Ibersol entrou no mercado portugues para um segmento que, a altura, apresentava um forte crescimento: o segmento da “comida rapida”. O facto de praticar precos marginalmente mais elevados conjugado com o facto de ter entrado cerca de 10 anos depois do seu concorrente mais directo (McDonald? s) conduziram a marca BK a uma posicao de sub-lider. Apesar da marca gozar do reconhecimento generalizado de comercializar produtos que superam qualitativamente os da McDonald? , as margens de crescimento no mercado portugues tem revelado uma tendencia decrescente desde 2007. A situacao de incerteza da empresa oferece a possibilidade de discussao das alternativas de posicionamento e escolhas estrategicas em cadeiras de marketing e estrategia. Para alem do caso de estudo, a dissertacao inclui uma revisao dos conceitos e ferramentas teoricas usadas para analisar o ambiente interno e externo da empresa. Por ultimo, a nota de ensino propoe uma abordagem para o caso em estudo que podera servir de guia para uma discussao em aula ou estimular a preparacao da mesma.
