Structure and Operations
Burger King Holdings is the parent company of Burger King, also known as Burger King Corporation and abbreviated BKC, and is a Delaware corporation formed on July 23, 2002. A privately held company, it derives its income from several sources, including property rental and sales through company owned restaurants; however a substantial portion of its revenue is dependent on franchise fees. During the transitional period after the acquisition of the company by 3G Capital, Burger King's board of directors was co-chaired by John W. Chidsey, formerly CEO and chairman of the company, and Alexandre Behring, managing partner of 3G Capital. By April 2011 the new ownership completed the restructuring of Burger King's corporate management and Chidsey tendered his resignation, leaving Behring as current CEO and chair.
The company operates approximately 40 subsidiaries globally that oversee franchise operations, acquisitions and financial obligations such as pensions. One example of a subsidiary is Burger King Brands, Inc. which is responsible for the management of Burger King's intellectual properties. A wholly owned subsidiary established in 1990, Burger King Brands owns and manages all trademarks, copyrights and domain names used by the restaurants in the United States and Canada. It also responsible for providing marketing and related services to the parent company.
The majority of Burger King restaurants, approximately 90%, are privately held franchises. In North America Burger King Corporation is responsible for licensing operators and administering of stores. Internationally the company often pairs with other parties to operate locations or it will outright sell the operational and administrative rights to a franchisee which is given the designation of master franchise for the territory. The master franchise will then be expected to sub-license new stores, provide training support and insure operational standards are maintained. In exchange for the oversight responsibilities, the master franchise will receive administrative and advertising support from Burger King Corporation to ensure a common marketing scheme. The 3G Capital ownership group announced in April 2011 that it would begin divesting itself of many corporate owned locations with the intent to increase the number of privately held restaurants to 95%.
As the franchisor for the brand, Burger King Holdings has several obligations and responsibilities; the company designs and deploys corporate training systems while overseeing brand standards such as building design and appearance. The company also develops new products and deploys them after presenting them to its franchises for approval per a 2010 agreement between itself and the franchise ownership groups. Burger King has limited approval over franchise operations such as minimum hours of operation and promotional pricing. Additionally Burger King designates approved vendors and distributors while ensuring safety standards at the productions facilities of its vendors.
Burger King is headquartered in a nine-story office tower by the Miami International Airport in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida. Elaine Walker of the Miami Herald stated that the headquarters has a "Burger King" sign that drivers on Florida State Road 836 "can't miss." In addition the chain planned to build a neon sign on the roof to advertise the brand to passengers landing at the airport. On Monday July 8, 2002, 130 employees began working at the Burger King headquarters with the remainder moving in phases in August 2002. Prior to the moving to its current headquarters in 2002, Burger King had considered moving away from the Miami area; Miami-Dade County politicians and leaders lobbied against this, and Burger King stayed.
The company's previous headquarters were in a southern Dade County campus described by Walker as "sprawling" and "virtually hidden away." The former headquarters were located on Old Cutler Blvd in the Cutler census-designated place. The former Burger King headquarters as of 2007 houses rental offices for several companies.
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