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Hoover's Profile: KFC Corporation Sponsored Links Annual Report Design Award-winning ARA design services, CSR report, Annual review and SFS. www.blacksunplc.com Contact Information Type: Subsidiary KFC Corporation On the web: http://www.kfc.com 1441 Gardiner Ln. Employees: 24,000 Louisville, KY 40213 KFC rules the roost when it comes to chicken. America's #1 fast- KY Tel. 502-874-1000 food chicken chain owns or franchises more than 14,000 outlets in more than 100 countries. The restaurants offer the Colonel's trademark fried chicken (in both Original Recipe and Extra Tasty Crispy varieties) along with chicken sandwiches, chicken pot pies, crispy chicken strips, mashed potatoes and gravy, and potato wedges. Its locations can be found operating as free-standing units and kiosks (in shopping malls, gas stations, and airports). More than 20% of the restaurants are company-operated; the rest are franchised or licensed. KFC is a division of global fastfood franchiser YUM! Brands. Key numbers for fiscal year ending December, 2007: Sales: $520.3M Officers: President and Chief Concept Officer: Gregg R. Dedrick COO: Harvey Brownlee Jr. VP Marketing: James O'Reilly Competitors: Cajun Operating Company Chick-fil-A Popeyes

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Personalize Library Arts Business Entertainment Food Government Health Legal Leisure Military People Reference Religion Science Shopping Sports Travel Words Zoology More... Sponsored Links Restaurant Self Service Online Self Ordering, Kiosks, Restaurant Self Service Technology. www.selfserviceworld.com Mcdonald's Corporation NYTimes.com presents news and a financial overview of this company www.nytimes.com Company History: KFC Corporation Incorporated: 1955 as Kentucky Fried Chicken SIC: 5812 Eating Places KFC Corporation is the largest fast-food chicken operator, developer, and franchiser in the world. KFC, a wholly owned subsidiary of PepsiCo, Inc. until late 1997, operates over 5,000 units in the United States, approximately 60 percent of which are franchises. Internationally, KFC has more than 3,700 units, of which two-thirds are also franchised. In addition to direct franchising and wholly owned operations, the company participates in joint ventures, and continues investigating alternative venues to gain market share in the increasingly competitive fast-food market. In late 1997 the company expected to become a wholly owned subsidiary of Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc., to be formed from the spin off of PepsiCo's restaurant holdings. Kentucky Fried Chicken was founded by Harland Sanders in Corbin, Kentucky. Sanders was born on a small farm in Henryville, Indiana, in 1890. Following the death of Sanders's father in 1896, Sanders's mother worked two jobs to support the family. The young Sanders learned to cook for his younger brother and sister by age six. When Mrs. Sanders remarried, her new husband didn't tolerate Harland. Sanders left home and

school when he was 12 years old to work as a farm hand for four dollars a month. At age 15 he left that job to work at a variety of jobs, including painter, railroad fireman, plowman, streetcar conductor, ferryboat operator, insurance salesman, justice of the peace, and service-station operator. In 1929 Sanders opened a gas station in Corbin, Kentucky, and cooked for his family and an occasional customer in the back room. Sanders enjoyed cooking the food his mother had taught him to make: pan-fried chicken, country ham, fresh vegetables, and homemade biscuits. Demand for Sanders's cooking rose; eventually he moved across the street to a facility with a 142-seat restaurant, a motel, and a gas station. During the 1930s an image that would become known throughout the world began to develop. First, Sanders was named an honorary Kentucky Colonel by the state's governor; second, he developed a unique, quick method of spicing and pressure-frying chicken. Due to his regional popularity, the Harland Sanders Court and Cafe received an endorsement by Duncan Hines's Adventures in Good Eating in 1939. Sanders Court and Cafe was Kentucky's first motel, but the Colonel was forced to close it when gas rationing during World War II cut tourism. Reopening the motel after the war, Sanders's hand was once again forced: in the early 1950s, planned Interstate 75 would bypass Corbin entirely. Though Sanders Cafe was valued at $165,000, the owner could only get $75,000 for it at auction, just enough to pay his debts. However, in 1952 the Colonel signed on his first franchise to Pete Harman, who owned a hamburger restaurant in Salt Lake City, Utah. Throughout the next four years, he convinced several other restaurant owners to add his Kentucky Fried Chicken to their menus. Therefore, rather than struggle to live on his savings and Social Security, in 1955 Sanders incorporated and the following year took his chicken recipe to the road, doing demonstrations on-site to sell his method. Clad in a white suit, white shirt, and black string tie, sporting a white mustache and goatee, and carrying a cane, Sanders dressed in a way that expressed his energy and enthusiasm. In 1956 Sanders moved the business to Shelbyville, Kentucky, 30 miles east of Louisville, to more easily ship his spices, pressure cookers, carryout cartons, and advertising material. And by 1963 Sanders's recipe was franchised to more than 600 outlets in the United States and Canada. Sanders had 17 employees and travelled more than 200,000 miles in one year promoting Kentucky Fried Chicken. He was clearing $300,000 before taxes, and the business was getting too large for Sanders to handle. In 1964 Sanders sold Kentucky Fried Chicken for $2 million and a per-year salary of $40,000 for public appearances; that salary later rose to $200,000. The offer came from an investor group headed by John Y. Brown, Jr. a 29-year-old graduate of the University of Kentucky law school, and Nashville financier John (Jack) Massey. A notable member of the investor group was Pete Harman, who had been the first to purchase Sanders's recipe 12 years earlier. Under the agreement, Brown and Massey owned national and international franchise rights, excluding England, Florida, Utah, and Montana, which Sanders had already apportioned. Sanders would also maintain ownership of the Canadian franchises. The company subsequently acquired the rights to operations in England, Canada, and Florida. As chairman and CEO, Massey trained Brown for the job; meanwhile, Harland Sanders

enjoyed his less hectic role as roving ambassador. In Business Week, Massey remarked: "He's the greatest PR man I have ever known." Within three years, Brown and Massey had transformed the "loosely knit, one-man show ... into a smoothly run corporation with all the trappings of modern management," according to Business Week. Retail outlets reached all 50 states, plus Puerto Rico, Mexico, Japan, Jamaica, and the Bahamas. With 1,500 take-out stores and restaurants, Kentucky Fried Chicken ranked sixth in volume among food-service companies; it trailed such giants as Howard Johnson, but was ahead of McDonald's Corporation and International Dairy Queen. In 1967, franchising remained the foundation of the business. For an initial $3,000 fee, a franchisee went to "KFC University" to learn all the basics. While typical costs for a complete Kentucky Fried Chicken start-up ran close to $65,000, some franchisees had already become millionaires. Tying together a national image, the company began developing pre-fabricated red-and-white striped buildings to appeal to tourists and residents in the United States. The revolutionary choice Massey and Brown made was to change the Colonel's concept of a sit-down Kentucky Fried Chicken dinner to a stand-up, take-out store emphasizing fast service and low labor costs. This idea created, by 1970, 130 millionaires, all from selling the Colonel's famous pressure-cooked chicken. But such unprecedented growth came with its cost, as Brown remarked in Business Week: "At one time, I had 21 millionaires reporting to me at eight o'clock every morning. It could drive you crazy." Despite the number of vocal franchisees, the corporation lacked management depth. Brown tried to use successful franchisees as managers, but their commitment rarely lasted more than a year or two. There was too much money to be made as entrepreneurs. Several observations about franchise arrangements noted by stock market analysts and accountants in the late 1960s became widespread news by 1970. First, Wall Street noticed that profits for many successful franchisers came from company-owned stores, not from the independent shops--though this was not the case with Kentucky Fried Chicken. This fact tied in with a memorandum circulated at Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Company, and an article published by Archibald MacKay in the Journal of Accountancy stating that income labeled "initial franchise fees" was added when a franchise agreement was signed, regardless of whether the store ever opened or fees were collected. Such loose accounting practices caused a Wall Street reaction: franchisers, enjoying the reputation as "glamour stocks" through the 1960s, were no longer so highly regarded. Kentucky Fried Chicken stock hit a high of $55.50 in 1969, then fell to as low as $10 per share within a year. In early 1970, following a number of disagreements with Brown, Massey resigned. When several other key leaders departed the company, Brown found the housecleaning he planned already in progress. A number of food and finance specialists joined Kentucky Fried Chicken, including R. C. Beeson as chief operational officer and Joseph Kesselman as chief financial officer. Kesselman brought in new marketing, controlling, and computer experts; he also obtained the company's first large-scale loan package ($30 million plus a $20 million credit line). By August 1970 the shake-up was clear: Colonel Harland Sanders, his grandson Harland Adams, and George Baker, who had run company operations, resigned from the board of directors. Colonel Sanders, at 80, knew his limits. In a 1970 New York Times article, Sanders stated, "[I] realized that I was someplace I had

no place being.... Everything that a board of a big corporation does is over my head and I'm confused by the talk and high finance discussed at these meetings." CEO Brown spent the rough year of 1970 shoring up his company's base of operations. By September, Kentucky Fried Chicken operated a total of 3,400 fast-food outlets; the company owned 823 of these units. The company, once too large for the Colonel to handle, grew too mammoth for John Y. Brown as well. In July 1971 Kentucky Fried Chicken merged with Connecticut-based Heublein Inc., a specialty food and alcoholic beverage corporation. Sales for Kentucky Fried Chicken had reached $700 million, and Brown, at age 37, left the company with a personal net worth of $35 million. Interviewed for the Wall Street Journal regarding the company's 1970 financial overhaul, Brown commented, "You never saw a more negative bunch.... If I'd have listened to them in the first place, we'd never have started Kentucky Fried Chicken." Article author Frederick C. Klein included closing parenthetical remarks in which observers close to the company noted that "in engineering Kentucky Fried Chicken's explosive growth, Mr. Brown neglected to install needed financial controls and food-research facilities, and had let relations with some franchise holders go sour." Heublein planned to increase Kentucky Fried Chicken's volume with its marketing knowhow. Through the 1970s the company introduced some new products to compete with other fast-food markets. The popularity of barbecued spare ribs, introduced in 1975, kept the numbers for Kentucky Fried Chicken looking better than they really were. As management concentrated on overall store sales, they failed to notice that the basic chicken business was slacking off. Competitors' sales increased as Kentucky Fried Chicken's dropped. For Heublein, acquisitions were doing more harm than good: Kentucky Fried Chicken was stumbling just when the parent company had managed to get United Vintners, bought in 1969, on its feet. In 1977 the company appointed Michael Miles, who was formerly responsible for the Kentucky Fried Chicken ad campaign at Leo Burnett and had joined Heublein's marketing team in 1971, to chair the ailing Kentucky Fried Chicken. Richard Mayer, vice-president of marketing and strategic planning for Heublein's grocery products, took charge of the Kentucky Fried Chicken U.S. division. Mayer found that the product mainstay, fried chicken, wasn't up to the high quality Colonel Harland Sanders would expect. Miles and Mayer also faced the same problem John Y. Brown had not managed to surmount: relations with franchisees were sour. In the mid-1970s, the franchisees sold more per store than company-owned stores. Faring better without Heublein's help, they resented paying royalty fees to the ineffective corporate parent. To top that off, the stores were looking out of date. Having unloaded well over 300 company-owned stores in the early 1970s, by the end of the decade Heublein began to buy some back from the franchisees. Renovation of the original red-and-white striped buildings began in earnest, with Heublein putting $35 million into the project. On the outside, Kentucky Fried Chicken facades were updated, while on the inside, cooking methods veered back to the Colonel's basics. Sticking to a limited menu kept Kentucky Fried Chicken's costs down, allowing the company time to recoup. Timing was fortunate on Kentucky Fried Chicken's turn-around; it happened just in time for Colonel Sanders to witness. After fighting leukemia for seven months, Harland Sanders died on December 16, 1980.

Miles and Mayer's work culminated with the highly successful 1981 ad campaign, "We Do Chicken Right." A year later, in step with the fast-paced 1980s, R.J. Reynolds Industries Inc. acquired Heublein, giving Kentucky Fried Chicken another lift; the company had expansionary vision, capital, and the international presence to tie it all together. Kentucky Fried Chicken sales that year reached $2.4 billion. By 1983 the company had made impressive progress. With 4,500 stores in the United States and 1,400 units in 54 foreign countries, no other fast-food chain except McDonald's could compete. But while many industry insiders were crediting the team with victory, Mayer wasn't so quick to join in. As he noted in Nation's Restaurant News, "People keep talking about the turn-around at KFC. I'd really rather not talk about it. The turn-around is only halfway over." With the entrance of R. J. Reynolds came the exit of Michael Miles, who resigned to become CEO of Kraft Foods; Mayer took over as chairman and CEO. Mayer continued on a cautious line for the next several years, refusing to introduce new products as obsessively as its competitors. "In the past two years," Mayer said in a KFC company profile in Nation's Restaurant News, "people have gone absolutely schizoid.... A lot of chains have blurred their image by adding so many new menu items." In further commentary, he added, "We don't roll out a flavor-of-the-month." Mayer's conservatism gained him the respect of Wall Street and his peers in the fast-food industry. In 1986 soft-drink giant PepsiCo, Inc., bought Kentucky Fried Chicken for $840 million. Reasons cited were KFC's superior performance and its 1980-85 increase in worldwide revenue and earnings. The successful operator of the Pizza Hut and Taco Bell chains, PepsiCo did quite well introducing new products through those restaurants. It was just a matter of time before Kentucky Fried Chicken would be expected to create new products. To foster new product introduction, in 1986 Kentucky Fried Chicken opened the $23 million, 2,000,000-square-foot Colonel Sanders Technical Center. In addition, the company began testing oven-roasted chicken through multiple-franchisee Collins Foods; further test-marketing of home delivery was undertaken using PepsiCo's successful Pizza Hut delivery system as an example. By late 1986 Donald E. Doyle, succeeding Mayer in the post of Kentucky Fried Chicken's U.S. president, inherited the task of developing new menu items. The overall market for fast food seemed glutted by the late 1980s. PepsiCo CEO D. Wayne Calloway saw Kentucky Fried Chicken's national niche as secure for two reasons: first, with competition spurred by the large number of fast-food suppliers, weaker chains would inevitably leave the market; second, Kentucky Fried Chicken still had room to grow in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. Internationally, the company planned 150 overseas openings in 1987. Japan, a major market, had 520 stores, Great Britain had 300, and South Africa had 160. KFC International, headed by Steven V. Fellingham, planned to concentrate on opening units in a handful of countries where its presence was limited. The People's Republic of China was the most notable new market secured in 1987; KFC was the first American fast-food chain to open there. Imperative to the success of Kentucky Fried Chicken was the establishment of successful relations with the numerous franchisees. Most of them lauded parent PepsiCo's international strength and food-service experience; KFC had its own inherent strength,

however, according to franchisees, which the parent company would do well to handle with care. That strength was the sharing of decision-making. In 1966, for instance, the Kentucky Fried Chicken Advertising Co-Op was established, giving franchisees ten votes and the company three when determining advertising budgets and campaigns. As a result of an antitrust suit with franchisees, in 1972 the corporation organized a National Franchisee Advisory Council. By 1976, the company worked with franchisees to improve upon contracts made when Brown and Massey took over. Some contracts even dated back to when Colonel Sanders had sealed them with a handshake. The National Purchasing Co-Op, formed in 1979, ensured franchisees a cut of intercompany equipment and supply sales. All of these councils had created a democratic organization that not only served the franchisees well, but helped keep operations running smoothly as Kentucky Fried Chicken was shifted from one corporate parent to another. As time passed, however, PepsiCo's corporate hand seemed to come down too heavily for franchisee comfort. In July 1989, CEO and Chairman Richard Mayer resigned to return as president to General Foods USA. Mayer, who together with Mike Miles was credited for bringing Kentucky Fried Chicken out of the 1970s slump, departed as the company battled over contract rights with franchisees. John M. Cranor, an executive who had joined PepsiCo 12 years earlier, took over as CEO. Kyle Craig, formerly with Burger King, Steak & Ale, and Bennigan's, began in an advisory role, later stepping up to become president of KFCUSA. Within months Cranor was meeting with franchisee leaders in Louisville to defend parent PepsiCo's contract renewal. Among the issues debated was PepsiCo's plan to revise the franchisee-renewal policy, which guaranteed operators the right to sell the business, and an automatic ten-year extension on existing contracts with reasonable upgrading required. It was in KFC's long-term interest to settle the dispute without litigation, Cranor believed--and with good reason. In August of 1989 franchisees had established a $3.6 million legal fund, averaging $1,000 per unit, to fight the battle in court if necessary. Cranor remained optimistic, relying on the history of positive relations with franchisees. Despite contract battles and communication troubles, in the fall of 1990 Kentucky Fried Chicken called a one-day truce to celebrate in honor of Colonel Sanders's 100th birthday. Meanwhile, fast-food competitors with stricter organization were keeping up with changes in consumer demand and introducing new products at a dizzying rate. KFC, in contrast, had difficulty in creating new products linked to the cornerstone fried chicken concept, as well as in getting them out quickly through franchisee stores. Hot Wings, brought out in 1990, were KFC's only hit in a number of attempts, including broiled, oven-roasted, skinless, and sandwich-style chicken. In late September 1990, Kentucky Fried Chicken increased its holding of companyowned stores by buying 209 U.S. units from Collins Foods International Inc.; Collins retained its interest in the Australian KFC market. The acquisition boosted Kentucky Fried Chicken's control of total operating units to 32 percent. The corporation also added Canada's Scott's Hospitality franchises to its fold, an increase of 182 units. To update its down-home image and respond to growing concerns about the health risks associated with fried foods, in February 1991 Kentucky Fried Chicken changed its name to KFC. New packaging still sported the classic red-and-white stripes, but this time wider and on an angle, implying movement and rapid service. While the Colonel's image was

retained, packaging was in modern graphics and bolder colors. New menu introductions were postponed, as KFC once again went back to the basics to tighten up store operations and modernize units. A new $20 million computer system not only controlled fryer cooking times, it linked front counters with the kitchen, drive-thru window, manager's office, and company headquarters. Though KFC may have had problems competing in the domestic fast-food market, those same problems did not seem to trouble them in their international markets. In 1992 pretax profits were $92 million from international operations, as opposed to $86 million from the U.S. units. Also, in the five-year span from 1988 through 1992, sales and profits for the international business nearly doubled. In addition, franchise relations, always troublesome in the domestic business, ran smoothly in KFC's international markets. To continue capitalizing on their success abroad, KFC undertook an aggressive construction plan that called for an average of one non-U.S. unit to be built per day, with the expectation that by 1995 the number of international units would exceed those in the United States. International sales, particularly in Asia, continued to bolster company profits. In 1993, sales and profits of KFC outlets in Asia were growing at 30 percent a year. Average per store sales in Asia were $1.2 million, significantly higher than in the United States, where per store sales stood at $750,000. In addition, profit margins in Asia were double those in the United States. KFC enjoyed many advantages in Asia: fast food's association with the West made it a status symbol; the restaurants were generally more hygienic than vendor stalls; and chicken was a familiar taste to Asian palates. The company saw great potential in the region and stepped up construction of new outlets there. It planned to open 1,000 restaurants between 1993 and 1998. Non-traditional service, often stemming from successful innovations instituted in the company's international operations, was seen as a way for KFC to enter new markets. Delivery, drive-thru, carry-out, and supermarket kiosks were up and running. Other outlets in testing were mall and office-building snack shops, mobile trailer units, satellite units, and self-contained kiosks designed for universities, stadiums, airports, and amusement parks. To move toward the twenty-first century, executives believed KFC had to change its image. "We want to be the chicken store," Cranor stressed in a 1991 Nation's Restaurant News. Cranor's goal was total concept transformation, moving KFC to a more contemporary role. New product introductions were part of the company's plan to keep up with competitors. Having allowed Boston Market to grab a significant portion of the chicken market, KFC tried to catch up with the introduction of Rotisserie Gold Chicken. The company's new CEO, David Novak, also decided to test Colonel's Kitchen, a clear imitation of the Boston Market format. To counter McDonald's and Burger King's "value meals," KFC brought out the "Mega-Meal dinner": an entire rotisserie chicken, chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes, macaroni, cole slaw, biscuits, and a chocolate chip cake for $14.99. In 1995, KFC expanded the idea to "Mega-Meal-For-One," and decided to test chicken pot pie and chicken salad. These moves gave a small boost to KFC's image, which had grown somewhat out-ofdate, and to its bottom line. However, problems with the franchisees continued, and PepsiCo was not seeing the return on its assets that it saw with its beverage and snack food divisions. PepsiCo was having similar problems with its other restaurant

subsidiaries, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, and decided the drain of capital expenditure was not worth it. In 1996 the company prepared to rid itself of its restaurant division by drawing together Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and KFC. All operations were now overseen by a single senior manager, and most back office operations, including payroll, data processing, and accounts payable, were combined. In January 1997 the company announced plans to spin off this restaurant division, creating an independent publicly traded company called Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc. The formal plan, approved by the PepsiCo board of directors in August 1997, stipulated that each PepsiCo shareholder would receive one share of Tricon stock for every ten shares of PepsiCo stock owned. The plan also required Tricon to pay a one-time distribution of $4.5 billion at the time of the spinoff. If approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the spinoff would take place on October 6, 1997. PepsiCo CEO Roger Enrico explained the move: "Our goal in taking these steps is to dramatically sharpen PepsiCo's focus. Our restaurant business has tremendous financial strength and a very bright future. However, given the distinctly different dynamics of restaurants and packaged goods, we believe all our businesses can better flourish with two separate and distinct managements and corporate structures." KFC and its franchisees did settle their contract disputes; according to a press release, "the crux of the agreement revolves around KFC franchisees receiving permanent territorial protection. In turn, KFC Corporation will have more direct influence over certain national advertising and public relations activities." Still KFC faced the need to rennovate its restaurant buildings, and also faced stiff competition from Boston Market, Burger King, and McDonald's, so it remained to be seen if the new parent company would refresh KFC's image and profits. Further Reading "Colonel Sanders Bowing Out," New York Times, August 8, 1970. "Cooking up Profits, Southern Style," Business Week, June 24, 1967. "'Corporate' Meets the Colonel in KFC's Entrepreneurial Cranor," Nation's Restaurant News, November 18, 1991. "The Education of Hicks Waldron," Forbes, December 8, 1980. "Franchising: Too Much, Too Soon," Business Week, June 27, 1970. "Heublein May Buy Kentucky Fried Via Stock Swap," Wall Street Journal, January 22, 1971. "Heublein Merger Plan with Kentucky Fried Is Ratified by Holders," Wall Street Journal, July 9, 1971. Hume, Scott, "KFC to Stick with What It's Finally Doing Right," Advertising Age, June 27, 1983. Jeffrey, Don, Peter Romeo, and Rick Van Warner, "KFC Company Profile" (a multiplearticle series), Nation's Restaurant News, December 15, 1986. Keegan, Peter O., "KFC Shuns 'Fried' Image with New Name," Nation's Restaurant News, February 25, 1991. ------, "KFC Takes Step Back to Move Forward," Nation's Restaurant News, November 18, 1991. Klein, Frederick C., "John Y. Brown, Rich and Taking It Easy," Wall Street Journal, April 1, 1975.

Koeppel, Dan, "The Feathers Are Really Flying at Kentucky Fried," Adweek's Marketing Week, September 3, 1990. Martin, Richard, "Collins to Sell 209 KFC Units to PepsiCo for $123 Million," Nation's Restaurant News, September 24, 1990. Prewitt, Milford, "Cranor Answers KFC Critics," Nation's Restaurant News, November 27, 1989. Prewitt, Milford, "Mayer Flies KFC Coop; PepsiCo Names Cranor," Nation's Restaurant News, July 31, 1989. Rudnitsky, Howard, "Leaner Cuisine," Forbes, March 27, 1995, pp. 43-44. Sellers, Patricia, "Pepsico's Shedding Ugly Pounds," Fortune, June 26, 1995, pp. 94-95. ------, "Why Pepsi Needs to Become More Like Coke," Fortune, March 3, 1997, pp. 2627. "Success Story: Potential Ruin Is Turned to Boom," New York Times, March 22, 1964. Tanzer, Andrew, "Hot Wings Take Off," Forbes, January 18, 1993, p.74. — Frances E. Norton; Updated by Susan Windisch Brown Sponsored Links Kentucky Fried Recipe Now Get The Famous Chicken Recipe From Kentucky and Many More Now! www.brillianthotels.com/chicken Malaysian Company Reports Free Trial Subscription 30,000 Companies in 57 Countries www.corporateinformation.com Wikipedia: KFC KFC

Type Founded Headquarters Key people Industry

Wholly owned subsidiary 1952 (North Corbin, Kentucky) Louisville, Kentucky Harland Sanders (Founder) Fast Food

Products Revenue Employees

Chicken and related Southern foods (USD) 750,000[citation needed] Yum! Brands Parent Operated by KFC Corporation Website http://www.kfc.com/ KFC, also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a chain of fast food restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky, known mainly for its fried chicken. Since 2002 KFC has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The company was founded by Colonel Harland Sanders in 1952, with the abbreviated form of its name adopted in 1991.[1] Starting in April 2007, the company began using its original appellation of Kentucky Fried Chicken again[2] for its signage, packaging and advertisements in the United States as part of a new corporate re-branding program;[3] newer and remodeled restaurants will have the new logo and name while older stores will continue to use the 1991 signage. Additionally, the company continues to use the abbreviation KFC freely in its advertising. Internationally the company is still known as KFC. The popularity and novelty of KFC has led to the general formula of the fried chicken fast-food restaurant being copied by restaurant owners worldwide. History

The restaurant in North Corbin, KY where Colonel Sanders developed Kentucky Fried Chicken

World's first KFC in South Salt Lake, Utah, since replaced by a new KFC on the same site Born and raised in Henryville, Indiana, Sanders passed through several professions in his lifetime.[4] Sanders first served his fried chicken in 1930 in the midst of the Great Depression at a gas station he owned in North Corbin, Kentucky. The dining area was named "Sanders Court & Café" and was so successful that in 1936 Kentucky Governor Ruby Laffoon granted Sanders the title of honorary Kentucky Colonel, in recognition of his contribution to the state's cuisine. The following year Sanders expanded his restaurant to 142 seats and added a motel he bought across the street.[5] When Sanders prepared his chicken in his original restaurant in North Corbin, he prepared the chicken in an iron skillet, which took about 30 minutes to do, too long for a restaurant operation. In 1939 Sanders altered the cooking process for his fried chicken to use a pressure fryer, resulting

in a greatly reduced cooking time comparable to that of deep frying.[6] In 1940 Sanders perfected his Original Recipe.[7] The Sanders Court & Café generally served travelers, often those headed to Florida, so when the route planned in the 1950s for what would become Interstate 75 bypassed Corbin, he sold his properties and traveled the U.S. to sell his chicken to restaurant owners. Sanders entered into franchise agreements paying him five cents for each piece of chicken sold.[8] The first to take him up on the offer was Pete Harman in South Salt Lake, Utah; together, they opened the first "Kentucky Fried Chicken" outlet in 1952.[9] By the early 1960's Kentucky Fried Chicken was being sold in over 600 franchised outlets in both the United States and Canada. Sanders sold the entire KFC franchising operation in 1964 for $2 million USD ($10.2 million adjusted for inflation), and it has since been sold three more times, most recently to PepsiCo, which made it part of its Tricon Global Restaurants division, which in turn was spun off in 1997 and has now been renamed to Yum! Brands. In 1971 Sanders sued Heublein Inc.—the KFC parent company at the time—over alleged misuse of his image in promoting products he had not helped develop. In 1975 Heublein Inc. unsuccessfully sued Sanders for libel after he publically referred to their gravy as “sludge” with a “wallpaper taste”.[10] Products

KFC's Original Recipe fried chicken and French fries Chicken KFC's specialty is fried chicken served in various forms. KFC's primary product is pressure-fried pieces of chicken made with one of two types of breading: original recipe or extra crispy. KFC has two lines of sandwiches: its "regular" chicken sandwiches and its Snackers line. The regular sandwiches are served on either a sesame seed or corn dusted roll and are made from either whole breast fillets (fried or roasted), chopped chicken in a sauce or fried chicken strips. The Snackers line are value priced items that consist of chicken strips and various toppings. They also sell several types of wraps. A variety of smaller finger food products are available at KFC including chicken strips, chicken wings and popcorn chicken. These products can be ordered plain or with various sauces, including several types of barbecue sauces and buffalo sauce. Several pies have been made available from KFC. The Pot Pie is a savory pie made with chicken, gravy and vegetables. In the second quarter of 2006, KFC introduced its variation on Shepherd's pie called the Famous Bowl. Served in a plastic bowl, it is

layered with mashed potatoes or rice, gravy, corn, popcorn chicken, and cheese. The bowl had been available at KFC's special test market store in Louisville since the third quarter of 2005. Other products In some international locations, KFC may sell hamburgers, pork ribs or fish. In the US, KFC began offering the Fish Snacker sandwich during Lent in 2006. The Fish Snacker consists of a rectangular patty of Alaskan Pollock on a small bun, and is the fifth KFC menu item in the Snacker category.[11] Three types of salads are available at KFC, topped with roasted or fried chicken. Sides Other than fried chicken, many KFC restaurants serve side dishes like coleslaw, various potato-based items (including potato wedges, french fries and mashed potatoes with gravy), biscuits, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, rice, steamed vegetables and corn on the cob. Some menu items are innovations in regional stores. The Singaporean management, for example, introduced the Colonel Burger in 1977, the Hot & Crispy Chicken in 1990, and the Zinger burger in 1993.[12] Discontinued products The Colonel's Rotisserie Gold- This product was introduced in the 1990s as a response to the Boston Market chain's roasted chicken products, and a healthier mindset of the general public avoiding fried food. Purportedly made from a "lost" Col. Sanders recipe, it was sold as a whole roaster or a half bird.[13] Tender Roast Chicken- This product was an off-shoot of 'The Colonel's Rotisserie Gold'. Instead of whole and half birds, customers were given quarter roasted chicken pieces. For a time, customers could request chicken "original", "Extra Tasty Crispy", or "Tender Roast". Chicken Little sandwich- a value oriented sandwich that sold for $1.00 (USD) in the US during the late 1980s. It was a small chicken patty with mayonnaise on a small roll, similar to White Castle's mini chicken sandwich.[14][15] Extra Tasty Crispy (ETC) Chicken- Much like the Extra Crispy served today, except ETC was prepared using chicken that had been soaking for at least a day in special marinade. There is some speculation that the marinade may have been made with trans-fats, and KFC boasts to no longer use trans-fats in their chicken. In the summer of 2007, KFC started marketing the chicken just as "Extra Crispy" without the marinade. Nutritional value KFC formerly used partially hydrogenated oil in its fried foods. This oil contains relatively high levels of trans fat, which increases the risk of heart disease. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) filed a court case against KFC, with the aim of making it use other types of oils or make sure customers know about trans fat content immediately before they buy food. In October 2006, KFC announced that it would begin frying its chicken in trans fat-free oil. This would also apply to their potato wedges and other fried foods, however, the biscuits, macaroni and cheese, and mashed potatoes would still contain trans fat. Trans fat-free soybean oil was introduced in all KFC restaurants in the US by 30 April 2007. CSPI announced that it would immediately drop its lawsuit against KFC and was hopeful that this would create a ripple effect on other restaurants or fast food chains that prepare

food rich in trans fat. "If KFC, which deep-fries almost everything, can get the artificial trans fat out of its frying oil, anyone can," CSPI Executive Director Michael Jacobson said in a statement.[16] Secret recipe

An older Kentucky Fried Chicken sign According to the nutritional information provided on KFC's own website, the ingredients for KFC Original Recipe Chicken are: Fresh chicken marinated with: salt, sodium phosphate and monosodium glutamate, and breaded with: wheat flour, sodium chloride and anti-caking agent (tricalcium phosphate), nonfat dry milk, dried egg whites and the Colonel's Secret Original Recipe Seasoning.[17] The Colonel's "secret recipe" of 11 herbs and spices is marketed as one of the best-kept trade secrets. The company's Web site describes the security protocol that protects the recipe as follows: The original handwritten recipe is purportedly locked in a vault in Louisville, Kentucky. Two separate suppliers of seasonings each provide only parts of the recipe, and do not know each other's identity. The spices are then later blended by machine at KFC's own commissaries, both to ensure standardization and to ensure that neither company has the complete recipe. The few people who do know the recipe are subject to a strict confidentiality agreement.[18] As with the secret Coca-Cola formula, the stories surrounding the recipe for KFC also serve a marketing purpose, with the company playing heavily on the mystery surrounding The Colonel's secret recipe. KFC implies that its chicken's distinctive taste is influenced by the pressure frying technique. On his Food Network show Good Eats, Alton Brown stated that the pressure fryer shortens the cooking time but neither adds any special flavor to the chicken nor adversely affects the flavor.[citation needed] In 1983, writer William Poundstone tackled the recipe in his book Big Secrets. He reviewed Sanders' patent application, and advertised in college newspapers for present or former employees willing to share their knowledge.[19] From the former he deduced that Sanders had diverged from other common fried-chicken recipes by varying the amount of oil used with the amount of chicken being cooked, and starting the cooking at a higher temperature (about 400°F, 200°C) for the first minute or so and then lowering it to 250°F (120°C) for the remainder of the cooking time. Several of Poundstone's contacts also provided samples of the seasoning mix, and a food lab found that it consisted solely of sugar, flour, salt, black pepper and monosodium glutamate (MSG). He concluded that it

was entirely possible that, in the years since Sanders sold the chain, later owners had begun skimping on the recipe to save costs.[20] Sanders himself expressed anger at the changes made to the gravy, saying, "That friggin' ... outfit .... They prostituted every goddam thing I had. I had the greatest gravy in the world and those sons of bitches they dragged it out and extended it and watered it down that I'm so goddamn mad."[21] Advertising

KFC's logo from the late 1990s until November 2006 Early television advertisements for KFC regularly featured Colonel Sanders licking his fingers and talking to the viewer about his secret recipe and the importance of a family joining one another for a meal. Despite his death in 1980, this angle was quite common through the 1980s and up until the early-mid 1990s. Throughout the mid 1980s, KFC called on Will Vinton Studios to produce a series of humorous, claymation ads. These most often featured a cartoon-like chicken illustrating the poor food quality of competing food chains, mentioning prolonged freezing and other negative aspects.[22] In the 80s, KFC was an associate sponsor for Junior Johnson's NASCAR Winston Cup Series cars, with such drivers as Darrell Waltrip, Neil Bonnett, and Terry Labonte. In 1997 KFC briefly re-entered the NASCAR Winston Cup Series as sponsor of the #26 Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet with driver Rich Bickle at the Brickyard 400. By the late 1990s, the stylized likeness of Colonel Sanders as the KFC logo had been modified. KFC ads began featuring an animated version of "the Colonel" with a lively and enthusiastic attitude. He would often start out saying "The Colonel here!" and moved across the screen with a cane in hand. The Colonel was often shown dancing, singing, and knocking on the TV screen as he spoke to the viewer about the product. The animated Colonel is uncommon today. Still using a humorous slant, the current KFC campaign revolves mostly around customers enjoying the food. It also features a modified version of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" as the theme song for practically all its commercials, though the restaurant hails from Kentucky.

A co-branded Long John Silvers and KFC In 2006 KFC claimed to have made the first logo visible from outer space,[23] though Readymix has had one since 1965.[24] KFC says "[It] marked the official debut of a massive global re-image campaign that will contemporize 14,000-plus KFC restaurants in

over 80 countries over the next few years." The logo was built from 65,000 one-footsquare tiles, and it took six days on site to construct in early November. The logo measured a record-breaking[citation needed] 87,500 square feet and was placed in the Mojave Desert near Rachel, Nevada.[25]

A co-branded Taco Bell and KFC The chain has also advertised in video games. The Dreamcast game Crazy Taxi, has a KFC as a destination for patrons.[citation needed] There are many KFC locations either adjacent to or co-extant with another (or several other) Yum! Brands restaurants, those being Long John Silvers, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and A&W Restaurants. Many of these locations behave like a single restaurant, offering a single menu with food items from both restaurants. Controversies

Protesters demonstrating outside a KFC restaurant in Royal Oak, Michigan New Zealand Like virtually all fast food outlets, KFC employs a high proportion of young and unskilled workers, frequently pays at or just above minimum wages, and its workers are not unionized. In New Zealand, KFC youth workers earn NZ$10.13 an hour. Staff at the Balmoral, Auckland store went on strike for two hours on December 3 2005 after Restaurant Brands, the franchise holder, offered no wage increase in contract negotiations.[26] In March 2006, Restaurant Brands agreed to phase out youth rates in New Zealand, although no date was set. Canada Many stores in western Canada are unionized with the Canadian Auto Workers, and as a result many if not all non-franchise stores in western Canada pay much higher than minimum wage. In British Columbia, where minimum wage is $7.25 - 8 an hour, KFC employees make between $10 and $11 an hour.[citation needed] United States Since 2003, animal rights and welfare organizations, led by PETA, have been protesting KFC’s treatment of the animals used for its products. These groups claim that the recommendations[27] of the KFC Animal Welfare Advisory Council have been ignored.

Adele Douglass, a former member of the council, told the Chicago Tribune that KFC “never had any meetings. They never asked any advice, and then they touted to the press that they had this animal-welfare advisory committee. I felt like I was being used.”[28] KFC's response is that the chickens used in its products are bought from suppliers like Perdue Farms, Tyson Foods, and Pilgrim's Pride and that these suppliers are routinely monitored for animal welfare violations.[29] Several PETA undercover investigations and videos of these and other KFC suppliers[30] purport to show chickens being beaten, ripped apart and thrown against walls which contradict KFC’s claims. There have been more than 12,000 demonstrations at KFC outlets since 2003 because of this alleged mistreatment of chickens by KFC suppliers. Urban legends Urban legends about KFC's rebranding from Kentucky Fried Chicken include the notion that the Commonwealth of Kentucky planned legal action against the chain due to a trademark on "Kentucky", and an assertion that KFC had been prevented from declaring their products to be made from chicken due to using genetically modified animals which were easier to harvest. Both such tales have been debunked.[31] Famous restaurants and owners Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

The KFC logo in Blue Springs, MO, USA, circa 2005 One of the most famous KFC restaurants in the U.S. is located in Marietta, Georgia. This store is notable for a 56-foot tall sign that looks like a chicken. The sign, known locally as the Big Chicken, was built for an earlier fast-food restaurant on the site called Johnny Reb's Chick, Chuck and Shake. It is often used as a travel reference point in the Atlanta area by locals and pilots.[32]

Wendy's restaurants founder Dave Thomas operated several Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises before starting his Wendy's chain. He invented the rotating-bucket-of-chicken sign that at one time was outside nearly every KFC. He also mandated that chicken should be sold in paper buckets to wick away excess moisture. Like Harland Sanders, figurehead of KFC, Thomas was a Kentucky colonel. One of the longest lived franchisees of Col. Sanders' chicken, as opposed to the KFC chain, was Kenny Kings. The company owned many Northern Ohio diner-style restaurants, the last of which closed in 2004. Colonel Sanders' nephew, Lee Cummings, also had his own Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises before creating his own "spin-off" restaurant chain, Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken. International operations Canada In French-speaking Quebec, KFC is known as PFK (Poulet Frit Kentucky). This was originally necessary because of Quebec's prohibition on commercial signs in languages other than French; in the early 1990s, these regulations were relaxed to allow national chains to use their familiar name in Quebec, but KFC/PFK continues to be one of the few non-Quebec companies to use a French name in the province. This is one of the few instances in which the KFC initialism is changed for the local language; even in France itself, the chain is called KFC. China KFC is known as 肯德基炸鸡 (pinyin: Ken de ji fried chicken) in China. It opened its first store in Qianmen Beijing, the capital city in 1987. In 2007, it has over 1800 restaurants in 402 cities in all mainland China's provinces other than Tibet. From 2000 to 2005, it was selected as the "Best chain store brand." In 2005, it was given the "Chinese special permit award." KFC is the most popular Western fast-food chain in the People's Republic of China.[33] Local menu items include egg tarts, and lotus root salad. KFC in China also serves other poultry in addition to chicken. Japan A life size statue of the Colonel stands in front of most stores in Japan. Fried chicken is an especially popular dish at Christmas time and on Christmas Eve many families (who have made reservations weeks in advance), have their traditional Christmas dinner of Kentucky Fried Chicken at home.[34] KFC is so prevalent in Japan that many Japanese unknowingly consider it to be a Japanese company.[35] Islamic countries Most KFC stores located in predominantly Islamic countries prepare foods in accordance with halal guidelines. List of global KFC restaurants locations Andorra South Korea Antigua and Barbuda Kuwait Aruba Lebanon Australia Macau Austria Malaysia Bahamas Malta Bahrain Mauritius

Bangladesh Mexico Barbados Namibia Bermuda Netherlands Botswana New Zealand Brazil Oman Bulgaria Pakistan Canada Panama Chile Peru Philippines China Poland Colombia Portugal Costa Rica Puerto Rico Curaçao Qatar Cyprus Romania Czech Republic Russia Denmark Saint Lucia Dominica Saint Vincent and the Dominican Republic Grenadines Ecuador Saudi Arabia El Salvador Singapore Egypt Slovakia Fiji South Africa France Spain Germany Sri Lanka Grenada Syria Greece Taiwan Guyana Thailand Honduras Trinidad and Tobago Hong Kong Turkey Hungary U.S. Virgin Islands Iceland United Arab Emirates India United Kingdom Indonesia United States Ireland Venezuela Israel Vietnam Jamaica Yemen Japan Zimbabwe Jordan See also List of fast-food restaurants References ^ Peter O. Keegan (1991-02-21). KFC shuns 'fried' image with new name - Kentucky Fried Chicken has changed its name to KFC. Nation's Restaurant News. Retrieved on 2007-08-24. ^ KFC Resurrecting Old Kentucky Fried Chicken Name, With New Image. buzzle.com (2005-05-01). Retrieved on 2007-08-28.

^ Anne DiNardo. Kentucky Fried Chicken: Fast Food Makeover. VMSD.com date=200508-29. Retrieved on 2007-08-28. ^ http://www.courier-journal.com/foryourinfo/010305/010305.html ^ http://roadtrip.beimers.com/day99.html ^ http://www.kfc.com/about/pressure.asp ^ http://www.kfc.com/about/history.asp ^ http://www.agilitynut.com/eateries/8b.html ^ http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,595057690,00.html ^ Kleber, John E.; Thomas D. Clark, Lowell H. Harrison, and James C. Klotter (June 1992). The Kentucky Encyclopedia. University Press of Kentucky, page 796. ISBN 081311-772-0. ^ Davis, Alex (22 February 2007), "KFC tries Kentucky fried fish", The Courier-Journal, ^ http://www.kfc.com.sg/abtkfc/history.asp ^ Peter O. Keegan (09-20-1993). Rotisserie Gold media blitz storms nation. Nations Restaurant News. Retrieved on 08-21-2007. ^ KFC's Darleen Pfieffer Speaks Out. QSR Magazine (09-2001). Retrieved on 08-212007. ^ KFC Chicken Littles on Roadfood.Com Forums. Retrieved on 08-21-2007. ^ www.webmd.com Zwillich, Todd. KFC to Fry Chicken without Transfat. October 30, 2006 ^ http://www.kfc.com/nutrition/pdf/kfc_ingredients.pdf ^ http://www.kfc.com/about/secret.asp ^ Poundstone, William; Big Secrets: The Uncensored Truth About All Sorts of Stuff You Are Never Supposed to Know; Quill, New York 1983, 18-20. ^ Poundstone, op. cit., 20-21. ^ Ritzer, George (2004). The McDondaldization of Society. New York: Pine Forge Press, 64. ^ Vinton Studio Commercials. ^ KFC Press Release, November 14 2006 ^ Giant Nullarbor logo zooms back into focus. ^ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,229308,00.html ^ http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10357158 ^ http://www.kfccruelty.com/pdfs/March11document.pdf ^ http://sec.edgar-online.com/2006/03/30/0001104659-06-020579/Section11.asp ^ http://www.cnn.com/2003/BUSINESS/10/17/anderson.kfc/index.html ^ http://www.kfccruelty.com/u-undercover.asp ^ http://www.snopes.com/horrors/food/kfc.asp ^ The Big Chicken. Roadside America. Retrieved on 2007-04-16. ^ http://www.fas.usda.gov/info/agexporter/1997/July%201997/fastfood.html ^ [1] ^ http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2005/12/23/1135032187987.html External links Official site Yum! Brands, Inc.

A&W Restaurants · East Dawning · KFC · Long John Silver's · Pizza Hut · Taco Bell · WingStreet Fast food chicken chains Bojangles' · Boston Market · Buffalo Wild Wings · Chester's · Chick-fil-A · Chicken Treat · Church's · Dixie Lee Fried Chicken · El Pollo Loco · Golden Chick · Guthrie's · Kenny Rogers Roasters · KFC · Lee's Famous · Nando's · Oporto (restaurant) · Pollo Campero · Pollos Frisby · Pollo Tropical · Popeyes · Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers · Red Rooster · Roscoe's House of Chicken 'n Waffles · WingStreet · Zankou Chicken · Zaxby's This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer) Donate to Wikimedia Sponsored Links World Halal Forum Join the Industry Leaders Take advantage of demand for Halal www.worldhalalforum.org Tip Corporation Malaysia Manufacturer of Cleanroom Bags, ESD Bags & Medical Packaging. ISO 9001. www.tipcorp.com Join the WikiAnswers Q&A community. Post a question or answer questions about "KFC" at WikiAnswers. Copyrights: Hoover's Profile. ©2008 Hoover's, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more Company History. International Directory of Company Histories. Copyright © 2006 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "KFC". Read more Get the FREE Answers.com IE Toolbar! Download Now More Info Add Answers to the IE7 Toolbar Search Box! Add Now! On this page: E-mailE-mail Tackle These Be the first to tackle these... Who are the customer of KFC? How is budgeting done at kfc? ...or improve one of these: What is the fullform of KFC?

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How many KFC restaurants are there? More KFC questions >> Keep Reading Mentioned In: Harland Sanders (Business Personality / Corporate Icon) Morgan's Foods, Inc. David C. Novak (businessman) chickenboner (computer jargon) Broasting PAR Technology Corporation (Public Company) McLane Foodservice, Inc. (Subsidiary Company) J.R. Simplot Company (Private Company) CKF Bancorp, Inc. (Public Company) AFC Enterprises, Inc. (Public Company) Bojangles' Holdings Inc. (Subsidiary Company) Aylwin Lewis Yum Brands Inc The Riese Organization (Private Company) | More >More > People who read this also read about: Corbin Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits List of fast food restaurants Harland Sanders Special Offers McDonalds Nutrition Facts KFC Original Recipe Kentucky Fried Chicken Deep Fried Calamari Rings Recipe Franchising Shopping

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