Case #10 Kentucky Fried Chicken and the Global Fast-Food Industry
             Kentucky Fried Chicken or (KFC) was one of the world's largest chicken
             restaurant chain and third larges fast food chain in 2000. "KFC had a 55 percent share of
             the U.S. chicken restaurant market in terms of sales and operated more than 10,800 restaurants in 85 countries. KFC was one of the first fast-food chains to go international in the late 1950s and was one of the world's most recognizable brands. KFC early international strategy was to grow its company and franchise restaurant base throughout the world" (Strategic Management C-203).
             In early 2000 KFC had refocused its international strategy on several high growth markets such as Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, China, Korea, Thailand, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. "In other international markets, KFC planned to grow primarily through franchises, which were operated by local businesspeople who understand the local market better than KFC. "Franchises enabled KFC to more rapidly expand into smaller countries that could only support a small number of restaurants" (Strategic Management C-203). This is just one of the major benefits that KFC has in franchising in a foreign market.
             In 2000, at least 50 percent of KFC's restaurants were located outside the United States. "Historically, franchises made owned and operated by local entrepreneurs who had grassroots understanding of local language, culture, customs, law, financial markets, and marketing characteristics. Franchising was also a good strategy for establishing presence in small countries like Grenada, Bermuda, and Suriname, which could only support a single restaurant. The costs of operating company-owned restaurants were prohibitively high in these small markets. Of the 5,595 KFC restaurants located outside the United States in 1999, 69 percent were franchised, while 21 percent were company-...