A month after being brought back from the dead, Colonel Sanders is off to see more of the world. Or more precisely, Russia and its neighboring countries.
KFC, which restored the cartoon Colonel to its advertising last month after a longer-than-30-year absence, plans to have at least 550 restaurants in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States by 2017, the country head of owner Yum! Brands said Wednesday at a ceremony to mark the opening of its 400th outlet in the region.
“We are offering fast food at competitive prices, which matters in a difficult economic environment,” Oleg Pisklov told reporters at the latest restaurant near Moscow.
Fast food is all the rage in Russia, where a contracting economy and shrinking household incomes have led consumers toward less-expensive restaurants. KFC’s first-quarter sales there rose 48 per cent in local currency, the highest growth pace across its geographies, Yum! Brands reported in April. The overall eatery market fell 4.4 per cent to 286 billion rubles ($5.3 billion), according to state statistics service Rosstat.
KFC’s Russian expansion mirrors that of rival fast-food chains. Burger King, part of Restaurant Brands International, added 104 Russian restaurants last year, boosting its network by more than 60 per cent. McDonald’s Corp. plans to open 50 outlets in the country this year, after adding 73 last year and surpassing 500 restaurants in total last month. It will also spend more on modernising existing locations.
