Taipei, Oct 22 - Burger King said the global downturn is pushing consumers to its stores in search of cheaper dining, but it worries that a prolonged credit crunch could hurt its franchisees' borrowing ability.
"In the short run, we've been somewhat of a beneficiary" of the downturn, Burger King CEO John Chidsey told Reuters on Wednesday in an interview in Taiwan, where the company was announcing a new partnership and expansion plan.
"People who can't afford to go to (mid-priced restaurants) but still want to go out -- we've benefitted from that. The question is if things get worse, do people decide at some point they should just stay at home?"
Chidsey said that if global credit markets remain frozen, a bigger longer-term concern for his company could be financing for Burger King franchisees, which operate many of the company's restaurants.
But he added that Burger King, the world's second-largest hamburger chain, has yet to see such credit problems.