LOUISVILLE, Ky. - (Business Wire) Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) announced the grand opening of its 13,000th restaurant outside the U.S. and China by its international division, Yum! Restaurants International (YRI), reinforcing the strength of the Company’s global portfolio of brands and growth in key emerging markets. The new restaurant, located in New Delhi, is the first KFC in India to feature a Krushers beverage bar and store design highlighting YRI’s popular new line of cold and hot drinks. “The enormous popularity of KFC and Pizza Hut has never been more evident as we continue to expand our system around the globe,” said Graham Allan, president, Yum! Restaurants International. “It is fitting we are opening our 13,000th restaurant (outside of the U.S. and China) in India, one of the world's most dynamic markets with huge growth potential.”
The Company’s latest opening is India’s first KFC with a Krushers store-in-store concept offering a range of cold and hot beverages that includes yogurt and fruit smoothies, dairy-based and soda-based drinks. The Krushers line of beverages, which is customized for each market, is the largest beverage launch in YRI’s history. The Company will have Krushers in at least 2,000 restaurants by year-end 2009, with plans to expand to 5,000 restaurants in 2010. Krushers first launched in Australia and is currently located in 19 markets across the globe, including Brazil, the Philippines and the Middle East.
Over the past 11 years, Yum! has become the largest and fastest growing restaurant company in India. As of the third quarter 2009 earnings, the Company has 153 Pizza Huts in 34 cities and 49 KFCs in 11 cities. In June, the Economic Times (India) named Pizza Hut the most trusted food service brand in the country for a fifth year, demonstrating the brand’s popularity in a market with a large middle class population.
“By 2015, we expect to have at least 1,000 restaurants in India, up from just over 200 today,” said Niren Chaudhary, managing director, Yum! Restaurants International India. “The number of people who can afford our food will reach 200 million people within five years and we are very excited about serving Pizza Hut, KFC and soon Taco Bell to them.”
YRI is the largest division of Yum! Brands with 13,000 restaurants outside the U.S. and China Division (including Thailand KFC and Pizza Hut and Taiwan KFC). One of Yum! Brands’ four key business strategies is to drive aggressive international expansion and build strong brands everywhere. In 2008, operating profit for YRI was $528 million. The year 2008 also marked the eighth year that YRI has opened more than 700 new restaurants outside the U.S. and China.
Yum! Brands, Inc., based in Louisville, Kentucky, is the world’s largest restaurant company in terms of system restaurants, with more than 36,000 restaurants in over 110 countries and territories. The company is ranked #239 on the Fortune 500 List, with revenues in excess of $11 billion in 2008. Four of the company’s restaurant brands – KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Long John Silver’s – are the global leaders of the chicken, pizza, Mexican–style food and quick–service seafood categories, respectively. Outside the United States, the Yum! Brands system opened more than four new restaurants each day of the year, making it a leader in international retail development. The company has consistently been recognized for its reward and recognition culture, diversity leadership, community giving, and consistent shareholder returns. In 2007, the company launched World Hunger Relief, the world’s largest private sector hunger relief effort to raise awareness, volunteerism and funds to benefit the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and other hunger relief agencies. To date, this effort has raised $36 million for the WFP and other hunger relief agencies and is helping to provide 160 million meals and save the lives of about 4 million people in remote corners of the world, where hunger is most prevalent.
Yum! Brands
Virginia Ferguson, 502-874-8200
