KENTUCKY Fried Chicken (KFC)’s performance of its franchise in Zimbabwe has been pleasing and exceeded expectations, General Manager New Africa Markets Bruce Layzell has said.
VICTORIA MTOMBA
“This has been a phenomenal market and it has exceeded our expectations,” Layzell said at the official opening of the Zimbabwe franchise yesterday.
The Zimbabwe operation is majority-owned by Country Bird Holdings, a Johannesburg-listed company, and the remainder is in the hands of a local partner.
Layzell said the shop is part of over 700 franchises that are owned by KFC on the African continent.
He said KFC products were expensive locally due to the import cost incurred by the company. Layzell said South Africa has a huge network compared to Zimbabwe, which was cheaper than East Africa.
Layzell said the company was getting its chickens locally while it is importing potatoes.
“We are working with local suppliers on potatoes,” he said. Country Bird Holdings Limited chief executive officer Mathinus Stander said the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed company was a poultry processor in partnership with KFC.
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“Our responsibility is to work with Yum on how many stores that market can take,” he said.
Yum! Brands, Inc. or Yum! is a United States-based Fortune 500 corporation. It operates the licensed fastfood brands Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, and Wing Street worldwide.
KFC closed its outlets in Zimbabwe during the economic crisis in 2007. The fastfoods company reopened its doors in the country last month.
