Business description of RESTAURANT-BRANDS-INTERNATIONAL-INC from last 10-k form

Risks Related to our Business

Our success depends on our ability to compete with our major competitors, many of which may have greater resources than we do.

The restaurant industry is intensely competitive and we compete in the United States, Canada and internationally with many well-established food service companies that compete on the basis of product choice, quality, affordability, service and location. Our competitors include a variety of independent local operators, in addition to well-capitalized regional, national and international restaurant chains and franchises. Furthermore, the restaurant industry has few barriers to entry, and therefore new competitors may emerge at any time.

For our Burger King and Tim Hortons brands, our principal competitors are McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Starbucks, Subway, Dunkin Donuts and Panera Bread as well as, in the case of our Burger King brand, regional hamburger restaurant chains, such as Carl’s Jr., Jack in the Box and Sonic. To a lesser extent, our Burger King and Tim Hortons brands also compete for consumer dining dollars with national, regional and local (i) quick service restaurants that offer alternative menus, (ii) casual and “fast casual” restaurant chains, and (iii) convenience stores and grocery stores.

Our ability to compete will depend on the success of our plans to improve existing products, to develop and roll-out new products and product line extensions, to effectively respond to consumer preferences and to manage the complexity of restaurant operations as well as the impact of our competitors’ actions. Some of our competitors have substantially greater financial resources, higher revenues and greater economies of scale than we do. These advantages may allow them to (1) react to changes in pricing, marketing and the quick service restaurant segment in general more quickly and more effectively than we can, (2) rapidly expand new product introductions, (3) spend significantly more on advertising, marketing and other promotional activities than we do, which may give them a competitive advantage through higher levels of brand awareness among consumers and (4) devote greater resources to accelerate their restaurant remodeling efforts. Moreover, certain of our major competitors have completed the reimaging of a

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