Coincidence? Swedish hamburger chain invades Norway on May 17
Ironically, Max’s first restaurant is opening in the same building as Burger King when the U.S. chain gained a foothold in Norway on Karl Johans Gate in 1988. Photo by Len Rizzi
Swedish hamburger chain Max opens its first Norwegian Maxrestauranten on May 17th, taking Burger King’s previous location in the center of Oslo. The Swedish company will challenge the hamburger giants McDonald’s and Burger King.
The Swedish fast food king plans to open 10 restaurants in Norway during the next five years, with the long-term goal of having a significant share of the market, which requires up to 50 restaurants.
“We are completely different than McDonald’s and Burger King. We serve hamburgers with a totally different quality,” says Max’s CEO Richard Bergfors to Dagsavisen.
Bergford also suggests they will overtake a large amount of market share from McDonald’s and Burger King, as the market continues to increase as a result of international and local trends in eating habits.
Today in Norway, McDonald’s has 71 restaurants, while Burger King has 32. In Sweden, Max has overwhelmed the American fast food chains. A study published on Max’s website shows that 32 percent of consumers prefer hamburgers from Max, while 18 and 15 percent prefer McDonald’s and Burger King, respectively.
About Max
Today, Max is a nationwide chain in Sweden and it is run by the Bergfors family, with Richard and Christoffer Bergfors as president and vice president, respectively. With a turnover of EUR 121 million in 2009, Max is the second largest hamburger chain in Sweden.
The industry’s most satisfied customers
In industry customer-satisfaction surveys, Max consistently rates on top. According to the customer satisfaction surveys conducted by ISI Wissing, Max had the highest customer-satisfaction index for the ninth year in a row. And according to the population surveyed by SIFO and ISI Wissing in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009, Max has the best hamburgers in Sweden.
Source: The Nordic Page
