The crispy chicken juggernaut KFC has just hit a finger-lickin’ milestone in its biggest market. On 15 December, KFC unveiled its 10,000th store in China, making it the biggest Western-style fast food chain in the entire country. Bringing up the rear is homegrown “new Chinese-style” burger joint Tastien, which currently has 6,100 stores, and McDonald’s at just 5,400 stores. Despite challenges brought by the pandemic, 40% of KFC’s stores opened in the last 4 years.
The new riverside outlet in Hangzhou has been given the lofty moniker of “Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal Restaurant”, a historically important link connecting northern and southern China. The official drone show celebrating the store launch also captured this theme, showing the route from Beijing to Hangzhou mapped out in lights over Hangzhou’s night-time cityscape.
Besides the launch day festivities, customers are in with lots of chances for discounts and special goodies over the next week, which they can find by searching the official event hashtag on Douyin (#肯德基万店同庆#). The Family Bucket is also returning to its 2006 price tag of 59 RMB (8.27 USD) during the promotional period.
“As the first Western quick service restaurant brand in China to reach this incredible milestone, KFC China’s 10,000th store opening is a proud moment for all of us, demonstrating the brand’s deep bond with Chinese consumers across generations for over 36 years,” said Joey Wat, CEO of Yum China, KFC’s parent company in China.
According to KFC’s estimates, its restaurants serve only one-third of the Chinese population, but it is hoping to reach one-half of the population by 2026. To achieve this ambitious goal, KFC plans to continue its current trajectory of expanding into more lower-tier cities while increasing store density in higher-tier cities.
