10 more KFC restaurants in Mumbai, 2 in Pune

I / Kuala Lumpur May 1, 2009, 12:22 IST

Malaysia's KFC Holdings (M) Bhd (KFCH) plans to open 10 KFC restaurants in Mumbai and two in Pune by the end of 2010, with an investment of around 20 million ringgit (around Rs 27 crore).      

"KFCH has been given the rights by Yum! Restaurants (India) Pvt Ltd, the franchisor, to open and operate KFC restaurants in India, particularly in Mumbai and Pune...," chairman Muhammad Ali Hashim said after the company's AGM yesterday.      

He said the opening of the stores in the Indian market would cost almost 20 million ringgit, which would be funded internally.      

"With the combined population of Mumbai and Pune exceeding Malaysia's, we would have some work before moving to other cities (in India)," Ali added.      

At present, there are two KFC restaurants in Pune and four in Mumbai, of which two are owned and operated by Yum! and the remaining two are run by local franchisees.      

"There are only 45 KFC restaurants in India compared with 444 in Malaysia. Although Yum! has its own operations there, the number is still small, hence there are opportunities for others to come in," Ali said. 

KFCH does not expect India to be a significant revenue contributor in the next two to three years until it has set up at least 10 to 12 outlets.