How far can the Canadian coffee giant go?

T imH ortons, Canada's largest coffee chain, and Burger K ing, the US fast-food chain, have announced the establishment of a new company to create the world's third-largest fast-food group. The new company will open 18, 000 chain stores in 100 countries around the world, with annual sales of 23 billion US dollars.

Tim Hortons was founded in 1964 by a Canadian hockey player named T im H orton. This small street shop, famous for its coffee and doughnuts, is a national brand that Canadians are proud of. Over the years, Tim Horton has impressed customers with some of his classic coffee drinks.

By the end of June 2014, the total number of Tim Hortons stores had reached 4546, mainly in North America, with 3630 in Canada and 866 in the United States. Tim Hortons overtook McDonald's to become Canada's largest fast-food company in 2002, accounting for more than 20% of Canada's total food industry tax revenue, according to the data.

Tim Hortons is an out-and-out symbol of Canadian character. There is no doubt about Canadians' feelings for Tim Hortons. It can be said that in Canadian blood, there is the smell of Tim Horton's coffee.

Despite a joint statement by Tim Hortons and Burger King, the new company will be headquartered in Canada and the two companies will maintain their own independent brands. But burger king's current shareholder, 3G capital, will own 51% of the new company, meaning Canadians may struggle to keep the cup of coffee.

Coffee has been fragrant for half a century. Once the owner has changed, many Canadians are not happy. Canadian Finance Minister Oliver said the Canadian government will review the acquisition.

There are plenty of people who oppose Burger King's acquisition of Tim Hortons. Some people believe that Burger King is losing its competitiveness in the Canadian market, and Burger King is actually taking advantage of Burger King by buying Tim Hortons; others doubt that Burger King's real purpose of acquiring Tim Hortons and setting up a new company in Canada is to "escape" from the United States to avoid taxes.

More importantly, it is uncertain whether Tim Hortons can "smell" smoothly after the change of ownership. After all, the competition in the global fast food industry is very fierce, and there are giants like Starbucks in the coffee chain.

In fact, there is nothing wrong with Tim Hortons choosing the international route. On the one hand, after the establishment of the new company, Tim Hortons can retain the independence of the brand and rely on the global chain advantage of Burger King. Tim Hortons' international popularity will be enhanced. On the other hand, the new company set up by Tim Hortons and Burger King will be headquartered in Canada, which will also help to increase local taxes.

In 1995, Tim Hortons was acquired by an American company and then returned to Canada. This well-told street coffee shop has had a win-win growth experience, why not achieve a new win-win situation after the merger with Burger King?