BK vs. McD's

An interesting article from Richard Gibson with Dow Jones Newswires in Sunday's C-J-- about an impending "burger war"...

Burger King Corp., in a move that could ignite a fast-food discounting war, plans to test a $1 double cheeseburger that would challenge one of McDonald's Corp.'s best-selling items.

"It is our belief that the dollar double cheeseburger is the most powerful weapon our competitor has to continue their growth and steal disproportionate share from the category," the company's chief marketing officer said in a note disclosing the upcoming test, which was e-mailed recently to Burger King employees and franchisees...

The most powerful weapon? That'd be a funny thing to read in an email about a burger!

The nation's No. 2 hamburger chain, Miami-based Burger King said it will feature a larger double cheeseburger than McDonald's at a heavily discounted rate in three unnamed U.S. markets early next year...Burger King restaurants now typically charge well over $2 for that sandwich.

It is a bigger and far better sandwich than the McD's version.

...cited market research revealing that Burger King's value menu accounts for about 12 percent of total sales while McDonald's dollar menu contributes 23 percent, and Wendy's super value menu brings in about 25 percent of its business.

Those are interesting numbers--both the size and the relative size of Wendy's excellent super value menu and McD's vs. BK's.

FYI: In looking for a link to that article, I found another effort by Mr. Gibson on the contentiousness caused by the McD's "dollar menu" among some of its franchisors...