KFC Plans to carry on its restaurant network expansion in India in spite of the coronavirus pandemic bringing structural changes in the business, trust the country to be a growth market in the coming years.
KFC India, which opened around 30 new restaurants last year during the peak of the COVID-19-induced disruptions are looking at adding new outlets this year too as it looks to enhance access of the brand to its consumers.
KFC India Managing Director Samir Menon said that their intent is definitely to keep growing the brand. One of our biggest strategic pillars is what we call as access. We have to ensure that access to the brand continues to grow for the consumers, both physical and digital.
Before COVID-19 hit, KFC India had a restaurant count of about 450 and at present it has over 480 restaurants in more than 130 cities across India.
Physical access is definitely going to be a key part of growth strategy. As the year goes, a better sense of what kind of numbers we are trying to chase will emerge. It will be more than 25 for sure,” Menon said.
With the pandemic bringing about a change in consumer behavior with online orders and off-premise consumption growing, KFC India has also accelerated its efforts to address the changing consumer needs. On the other hand, in-premise consumption is yet to recover fully to pre-COVID levels and will take longer.
For the second wave of COVID-19, he said the company is better prepared with the learning from the year, especially on safety and hygiene protocols for dine-ins and operating through contactless deliveries.