News

Burger King experiencing tax inversion backlash

September 10, 2014

New data from YouGov BrandIndex shows that Burger King is experiencing a major backlash from its $11M acquisition of Canadian-based Tim Hortons, announced Aug. 26. With the merger, Burger King plans to move the new company’s headquarters to Canada, which would save it millions in US taxes.

Burger King executives have denied, however, that the move had anything to do with tax savings.

Still, countless media outlets picked up on the tax inversion benefits that come with the relocation, and the Home of the Whopper is consequently experiencing its worst consumer perception levels in more than four years, according to YouGov BrandIndex.

 A week before the M&A announcement, YouGov BrandIndex reported that Burger King’s perception among QSR consumers has been on the rise since the beginning of the month, while the other two burger chains have been declining.

According to a news release, Burger King went from a 13 score on Aug. 20 to its current -1, which equals the same current score as McDonald’s.  A score can range from 100 to -100 with a zero score equaling neutral.

The Tim Hortons announcement also coincides with a distinct drop in Burger King’s purchase consideration, one of YouGov BrandIndex’s key potential revenue metrics. Currently, 28 percent of consumers 18+ say they would consider the chain the next time they are looking for a quick-service meal, down from 32 percent on Aug. 26. Burger King is now at its lowest purchase consideration levels since December 2013.