KFC reaches 10,000th store milestone in China

The iconic fast food chain has a strong 36 years of growth in the Chinese market.

Yum China Holdings, Inc. has opened the 10,000^th store of KFC China, one of the many significant milestones that KFC achieved in its robust 36-year growth in the Chinese market.

Located in Hangzhou, KFC China’s 10,000^th store is set over the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, which links the northern and southern regions of China.

The opening of the store is one of the numerous steps for KFC China’s strategic footprint expansion in the territory. For the last five years, KFC China has accumulated strong growth with a brand presence in more than 1,900 cities by the end of Q3 2023 and annual growth for new stores of more than 22%.

With its growing presence, KFC has been established as the largest QSR brand in the Chinese market, in terms of system sales. Attributing to its huge success is its state-of-the-art in-house supply chain management system that has remained steadfast over three decades.

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As part of its strategic growth, KFC China has been fast-tracking opening stores in lower-tier cities and expanding store density in higher-tier cities. It has projected plans to expand into 1,100 untapped cities, to reach 20,000 stores by 2026.

Additionally, KFC China has been preemptive in enhancing its in-house technologies with the accessibility of delivery services and AI integration, and expanding its consumer base, with the launch of new items like the Juicy Whole Chicken and Beef Burgers, which generated over $100m in sales. It has set plans to expand its in-house coffee brand KCOFFEE with over 300 standalone stores by the end of 2024.

“Presently serving just one-third of China's population, our goal is for KFC China to reach over half by 2026. By leveraging our solid foundation of success and tremendous untapped potential for future growth, we are confident that KFC China will continue to be China's leading restaurant brand for many years to come,” Joey Wat, CEO of Yum China, stated.