More Lawsuits For Burger King
So now franchisees are jumping on the litigation bandwagon against Burger King. Can't really blame them either. The company is demanding that franchises fork over 40 percent of the money they get from soda companies annually for purchase and maintenance of soda machines and for local advertising. It's a huge chunk, and franchise owners aren't happy that the company is doing this without their consent. Enter lawsuit: the National Franchisee Association filed a class action suit on behalf of all 850 US franchisees.
Burger King intends to use the extra money to increase its national advertising budget. (Aside: how much bigger does this budget need to be? This is, after all, the company that sent a TV crew loaded with Whoppers to remote parts of the world to give "Whopper virgins" their first taste of the burger. When it comes to expensive and elaborate ad campaigns, that's got to be pretty far up on the list.) The money is supposed to go toward promoting new menu items, among other things.
Burger King stores fight to keep soda rebates [Miami Herald]
