Burger King Scraps Plans For $1 Burger
By PAUL ZIOBRO
NEW YORK -- Burger King Holdings Inc. 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. 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. Write to Paul Ziobro at Paul.Ziobro@dowjones.com