I recently met two friends at a near-deserted KFC outlet in Chongqing, a city in China’s southwest. I initially assumed they had already finished eating when I joined them, as there was no food on their table. But minutes later, a member of staff arrived with their meals; two Peking Duck wraps, two fries, and two Pepsis. They’d waited 10 minutes for their food because the kitchen didn’t have anything ready when they arrived.
I ordered the same thing, and was told it would be another 10 minute wait. Apparently, the kitchen hadn’t made a new batch after they ran out earlier. They had also run out of fries, but, hey, at least mine would be hot.
KFC has struggled mightily in China, as has its parent company Yum! Brands, which owns Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and several local Chinese brands. Last week, Yum’s share price plummeted after it reported that third-quarter same-store sales at its Chinese branches rose by just 2% from a year earlier—they were expected to increase by almost 10%. Yum cut its 2015 earnings forecast, and billions of dollars were wiped off the company’s market cap:
That’s because KFC’s China operations are crucial to Yum. The company describes KFC as the “largest restaurant chain in China,” and it makes up by far Yum’s biggest footprint there, with more than 4,800 outlets at the end of 2014.
But KFC is hardly the only fast food chain to face these accusations: McDonalds and local chain Kung Fu were also singled out in the ice cube controversy, while McDonalds too was hit by the out-of-date meat scandal. Anyone who sells chicken faced falling sales from avian flu worries.
From my personal observation, KFC’s real problem in China is something more fundamental—they’re making slow food, not fast food.
Over the five years I’ve visited KFC during lunch time (not every day, I must add), when the lines could be as much as 10 people deep, but I’m often asked to take a seat because standard menu items—like two pieces of original recipe chicken—will need to be cooked from scratch. It’s not uncommon, in my experience, to find that around half the menu is entirely unavailable.
Somewhere between its Kentucky head office and the thousands of individual outlets in China, KFC lost the basic rules of fast food. It should be food that is served quickly, because it is prepared in advance, with military-level attention to supply, workflow, and demand. McDonalds in China is as efficient as it is anywhere in the world, so being in China has nothing to do with KFC’s problems.
When KFC first entered China in 1987, it was a special Western-style treat that customers would happily wait for, and the chain was initially so successful that became a case study for doing business in China. But in the years since, local competitors like Hua Lai Shi and Dico’s that also serve items like fried chicken legs and fries have sprung up, and are eating at its market share.
Yum Brands’ third-quarter results were so shocking that analysts are now calling for a major shake up. “Spin off China, sell stores, do something,” Howard Penney, an analyst at Hedgeye Risk Management, told Reuters.
Before it takes such radical and costly steps, KFC might want to go back to the basics, and make fast food again.
KFC is one of the world's largest restaurant chains, with more than 29,000 locations and a new outlet opening every three and a half hours, according to Yum! Brands . But while much of the brand's early success came from the U.S., today the majority of its growth is in China.
When KFC opened its doors in Beijing, its slogan “Finger Lickin' Good”, translated to the not so appealing “Eat Your Fingers Off”. Despite this, the translation fail in its slogan did not impact the business negatively, as now KFC has over 5000 restaurants in China. Not a bad outcome for KFC after all.
But the strategy that emerged was remarkably clear and embodied five truly radical elements: turning KFC into a brand that would be perceived as part Chinese; expanding rapidly into small and midsize cities; developing a vast logistics and supply chain organization; extensively training employees in customer service; ...
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - A Shanghai court has fined three local tech firms for helping spread rumours about Yum Brands Inc's KFC fast food chain that included doctored photos of deformed chickens and allegations the birds had six wings and eight legs.
By the time the first McDonald's in Beijing opened in 1992, mainland China had proper infrastructure to supply the restaurants. As of 2022, there are about 8,600 KFC outlets in more than 850 Chinese cities. Pizza Hut has over 2,800 restaurants in China.
Yum! operates the brands KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and The Habit Burger Grill, except in China, where the brands are operated by a separate company, Yum China. Yum! previously also owned Long John Silver's and A&W Restaurants. The company was created as a spin-off of PepsiCo in 1997.
KFC has apologised after sending a promotional message to customers in Germany, urging them to commemorate Kristallnacht with cheesy chicken. The Nazi-led series of attacks in the country in 1938 left more than 90 Jewish people dead, and destroyed Jewish-owned businesses and places of worship.
In fact, holding on to a job was a struggle for the young colonel. His 20s and 30s were a string of failed jobs and unsuccessful business ventures. He had a short-lived legal career, which ended swiftly after he got into a fight with his own client. He then had a job selling insurance, but was fired from that too.
That literal translation turned out to be: “Schweppes Toilet Water.” 7) KFC's “Finger Lickin' Good” in China: KFC's famous slogan “Finger Lickin' Good” was translated into Chinese as “We'll Eat Your Fingers Off.” The literal translation had a gruesome connotation and was not well-received by Chinese consumers.
KFC internationally has been one of the world's strongest performing restaurant chains, with aggressive store growth and a business that has withstood a constant stream of challenges in its top market, China.
What is a main difference of KFC China compared with McDonald's in China? KFC introduced American fats food to Chinese consumers. KFC applied its expertise in offering products with stable quality. KFC diversified and localized its menu to better appeal to Chinese consumers.
Yum Brands Inc., is a restaurant company that owns quick-service chains Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC, as well as fast-casual brand The Habit Burger Grill. It is headquartered in Louisville, Ky. Yum Brands was initially part of PepsiCo, which entered the restaurant business in 1977 with the acquisition of Pizza Hut.
Fast food is becoming more and more popular among Chinese residents, with KFC historically taking the top spot. The country has more than twice the number of KFC locations than the US, with 10,000 restaurants in total.
KFC won over Chinese consumers by adding local cuisine options like egg tarts, soy milk drinks, and rice porridge. By 1999, KFC had over 300 stores in China, and by 2001, it was Chinese consumers' favorite brand.
As the movement of the delivery trucks to and from the depot remained restricted, a consequential problem occurred – the chicken were spoiling. There had been reports of entire trucks of chicken were put to waste because the temperature regulator in the trailer was set incorrectly, or lack of staff and training.
Fast food is becoming more and more popular among Chinese residents, with KFC historically taking the top spot. The country has more than twice the number of KFC locations than the US, with 10,000 restaurants in total.
Crispy fried chicken (simplified Chinese: 炸子鸡; traditional Chinese: 炸子雞) is a standard dish in the Cantonese cuisine of southern China and Hong Kong. The chicken is fried in such a way that the skin is extremely crunchy, but the white meat is relatively soft.
In China, the fast-food brand KFC - operated by Yum China in the country - generated over 8.2 billion U.S. dollars in revenue in 2023, an increase of approximately 14 percent compared to the previous year.
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Introduction: My name is Virgilio Hermann JD, I am a fine, gifted, beautiful, encouraging, kind, talented, zealous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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