KFC: Colonel Sanders Turns to China
SHANGHAI, CHINA - KFC has set its sights on China to help increase sales as a US recession looms round the corner. The Chinese KFC menu will offer fried dough and preserved egg porridge alongside the usual helping of Kentucky fried chicken.
7 May 2008
2 minute read
According to Samuel Shen of Reuters, Yum Brands, which owns the Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut brands, has begun an expansion in China that could make the country the company's biggest source of profit within a decade.
* "In a market like China, everyone should try to create new models." |
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Sam Su, head of Yum's China division
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But like many foreign companies in China, from cellphone makers to clothing designers, Yum has discovered it cannot rely on a foreign brand name for growth and must instead adapt to local tastes and lifestyles.
So KFC has given a Chinese twist to its menu by adding dishes similar to the food that tens of millions of Chinese grab from street stalls or small restaurants on their way to work every day.
"We felt that we could not just copy a model in a foreign country," Sam Su, who heads Yum's China division, told a forum in Shanghai last year. "In a market like China, everyone should try to create new models."
