KFC Opens China's First Drive-thru Restaurant

KFC, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. and the leading quick-service Restaurant chain in China, announced the debut of the country's first drive-thru restaurant. The drive-thru restaurant is located in the Asian Olympics Village district of Beijing.

"KFC is capitalizing on China's increasing mobility, fast-paced lifestyle, greater consumer spending power and desire for luxury items such as automobiles," said J. Samuel Su, president of Yum! Brands International Greater China.

The automobile market continues to boom in Beijing. According to statistics, more than 12 percent of families own cars; private car buyers account for 90 percent of automobile purchases and there are approximately one million cars in the city. More than 90,000 private automobiles are purchased annually.

"KFC is leading the way by offering Chinese consumers the ultimate innovation in convenience. KFC was the first to introduce western-style food to China and today opens the country's first drive-thru restaurant," said Su.

KFC leads the way as China's largest, oldest and most popular quick-service restaurant chain with locations in approximately 150 cities. KFC plans to open its 700th restaurant in mid-September of 2002. The company opened its very first restaurant in Beijing in 1987 and today has more than 80 restaurants in that city alone.

"KFC is expanding its leadership presence in China at an unprecedented pace," said Su. "Our strong infrastructure and established processes and resources enable us to aggressively grow the brand. Wide consumer appeal and marketplace expertise position KFC as a powerful, growing, global brand," Su added.

KFC's wide success in China is attributed to numerous factors including: a seasoned management team; marketplace expertise; talented franchisees and a highly motivated 40,000-member workforce focused on Customer Mania.

KFC is considered the most popular international brand throughout China, ranking higher than all others, according to a consumer survey conducted by ACNielsen. A 1999 study conducted by ACNielsen Media International, an operating unit of ACNielsen, found KFC to be the most popular international brand with Chinese consumers. The study was conducted among 44,000 consumers across 30 Chinese cities.

KFC is also considered an employer of choice throughout Asia. Yum! Brands International (including KFC and Pizza Hut) was named the leading quick-service restaurant company to work for in Asia in 2001 according to the "Best Employers in Asia" study conducted by global management consulting firm Hewitt Associates, in conjunction with Dow Jones, the publisher of Far Eastern Economic Review and The Asian Wall Street Journal.

China Plays a Key Role In Yum! Brands Overall Growth

Yum! Brands' number one goal is to drive global expansion with its portfolio of five leading QSR brands. The company opened over 1,000 new international restaurants in 2001 and expects to open another 1,000 in 2002. The company's target for new restaurant growth is 5 percent to 6 percent per year in net new international restaurants.

In addition to KFC, Yum! Brands continues to fuel rapid growth in China with its Pizza Hut brand. Pizza Hut was the first company to introduce pizza to China in 1990 and today has nearly 200 restaurants in more than 10 Chinese cities, including Beijing and Shanghai among others.

Yum! Restaurants International owns or Franchises nearly 11,500 restaurants outside of the United States, primarily KFC and Pizza Hut. The Company ended 2001 with $7.7 billion in worldwide system sales, and is a division of Louisville-based Yum! Brands, Inc., which additionally owns or franchises Taco Bell, Long John Silver's and A&W All-American Food Restaurants.