Competitive threats began to multiply. Few competed with KFC head-on in fried chicken, but China's fast-food market was fast maturing, leading to a plethora of choices that would eat away at KFC's market share.
They take issue with the company's new promotion, which allows customers to receive random selections of free, limited-edition toys with their meals. That has led to people rushing to buy too much food with no intention of eating it, according to a scathing statement by the China Consumers Association.
Key to KFC's success in the country has been its aggressive catering to Chinese tastes, with menu items that will never make their way to US restaurants. While KFCs in China serve fried chicken, they also serve a variety of local dishes like egg tarts, congee (rice porridge), and the "Dragon Twister."
Rather than go head-to-head with the Big Mac, KFC decided to embrace smaller cities and to build a national business with outlets all over the country. Scale allows the company to reduce costs, and being the first to enter a city means getting the pick of locations with good foot traffic and visibility.
Case studies usually agree on how this happened. KFC won this food fight because it localized better and faster, while McDonald's moved into the Chinese market with an outdated recipe for success that had worked when it expanded into other markets.
KFC's move, therefore, was to act fast and open branches in foreign markets in order to capture the markets and seal them from possible competition from their domestic rivals in case they made similar moves and established branches in the same markets.
More so, the research also highlights that in order to ensure its sustainability in China, KFC targets all consumers segments, both young and old alike. It has delivered on this by offering a variety of high quality cuisines to fit each group.
1. First off, let's talk about ingredients. Australia has some of the highest food standards globally, so the freshness and quality of our produce is a lot better than what you get in the US — meaning that our fast food tastes better.
China is its biggest market with more than 5,600 outlets while 12 million people eat at KFC restaurants every day around the world. As of 2021, KFC has approximately 25,000 locations in over 145 countries and territories globally.
McDonald's and KFC are by far the two most popular fast-food brands in China, boasting over 4,905 and 8,675 restaurants, respectively, as of 2022 Q3.
KFC became the first Western fast-food company in China after its first outlet opened in Qianmen, Beijing, in November 1987. It was China's first introduction to franchising. China proceeded to adopt the franchise and it grew rapidly.
KFC is using the price skimming strategy towards its customers in China. As KFC is targeting middle to high levels class in the big and medium sized cities first, it sets its price in a relatively high in the beginning.
McDonald's opened not long after that, in 1990. Today, KFC and McDonald's are the top-grossing American fast-food chains in China, with KFC consistently leading ahead of McDonald's. “Fried chicken is a bit closer to the Chinese palate than hamburgers, so KFC has had a greater opportunity to expand,” Dong says.
Yum China Holdings, Inc. operates China's leading restaurant concepts, including KFC and Pizza Hut brands, as well as emerging brands including Taco Bell, Little Sheep, Huang Ji Huang and Shaofaner. The Company also partners with Lavazza to explore and develop the Lavazza coffee shop concept in China.
According to Similarweb data of monthly visits, kfc.com. au's top competitor in May 2023 is mcdonalds.com.au with 2.2M visits. kfc.com.au 2nd most similar site is hungryjacks.com.au, with 1.0M visits in May 2023, and closing off the top 3 is redrooster.com.au with 450.9K.
The potatoes we use to make our famous chips generally come from Tassie and Victoria and the high-oleic canola oil we use for cooking them is also Australian-grown.
Back in 1987, Chinese people considered KFC as a gateway to the American lifestyle. And, food, you know, is one of the most important ingredients of any lifestyle or culture. So, in China, when people saw KFC, they saw “luxury”, “something different”, “western food”, “cool culture”, “status symbol” etc.
KFC is by far the largest and most successful fast-food chain in China, outpacing other American giants Pizza Hut and McDonald's.
Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) 肯德基炸鸡 Trad. 肯德基炸雞 Kěn dé jī Zhá jī Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)
During the 1950s, all of China's individual household farms were collectivized into large communes. To support rapid industrialization, the central government undertook large-scale investments in physical and human capital during the 1960s and 1970s.
Expert Answer
1- No, KFC would have not been so successful if KFC had not joined with other three local partners in China. The reason for NO because if it had established its own separate wholly owned subsidiary in China then it has to face Competition from Local …
This began to change in the post-war years, but by the early 1970s there was still no real Japanese substitute for the traditional Christmas dinner. Okawara recognized this gap in the market and told customers that KFC was a Christmas favorite with Americans.