Brazil Fast Food Corp. (BFFC), through its wholly owned subsidiary, Venbo Comercio de Alimentos Ltda., a Brazilian limited liability company that conducts business under the trade name "Bob's," owns and, directly and through franchisees, operates a chain of hamburger fast food restaurants in Brazil .
As of December 31, 2001 , BFFC had 265 points of sale, including 36 kiosks and trailers, of which 70 are owned and operated by the Company and the remaining 195 by its franchisees, all under the "Bob's" tradename. Approximately 188 of these points of sale are located in the states of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, with the remainder widely spread throughout major cities in other parts of Brazil, except for one franchised restaurant that opened in Portugal in November 2001. The largest number of franchised operations outside of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo are in Pernambuco, Santa Catarina, Para , Bahia , Espirito Santo and Brasilia . All points of sale serve a uniform menu of hamburgers, chickenburgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, french fries, soft drinks, juices, desserts and milk shakes. Selected points of sale also serve coffee and/or beer. The Company is particularly known for its milkshakes and the special spicing of its hamburgers. Its target clients are between the ages of 15 and 35 and come from all social groups.
Historically, its points of sale have been distinguishable from other "fast food" operations due to its unique service design, whereby customers would place and pay for their food on one line and pick up their food on another line. Cooks would prepare orders as read to them by the counter service representative who took the order. Its points of sale are generally open all year round, seven days a week. Its prices are consistently positioned at the same levels as those for comparable products offered by its major competitors. The Company attempts to maintain the overall cost of its meals at levels competitive with lunch prices offered by popular street snack bars known as "lanchonetes."
For the past several years, the Company has been the exclusive provider of hamburgers and related items at three of Brazil 's largest special events: the Rio de Janeiro Carnivale, the one-week festive period that precedes the advent of Lent, the Formula One Automobile Racing Championships and the Motorcycle Grand Prix. In addition, its food products are sold at other special events throughout Brazil , including boat fairs, automobile fairs and State rodeos. Using custom constructed trailers and moveable kiosks, the Company is able to offer most of its products at temporary locations for the duration of each special event. In November 2001, its first foreign point of sale was opened in Portugal pursuant to a master franchise agreement, which calls for the opening of a minimum of 30 franchised points of sale in Portugal by 2011.
McDonald's is the Company's primary competitor in the hamburger fast food business in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo . As of December 31, 2001 , Pizza Hut had 62 fast food pizza points of sale in Brazil . Domino's Pizza had 13 points of sale as of December 31, 2001. Habib's, a Middle Eastern fast food chain, had approximately 170 points of sale in Brazil as of December 31, 2001.
International Guild of Hospitality & Restaurant Managers
