Despite slower sales, KFC optimistic of about India growth

Indian arm of Yum! Brands sees a 13% fall in sales growth across KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell brands in Dec 2015 quarter

KFC India managing director Rahul Shinde today said the ups and downs in a growth cycle will not deter the company from looking at India as a long-term play.

"In a growth cycle every brand has its ups and downs and the way we look at is long term. India continues to be a massive opportunity for KFC and we continue to grow in India,"he said on the sidelines of the launch of 'add HOPE', a fund raising programme to provide meals to the under privileged children in India.

Yum India, the subsidiary of Kentucky-based food retailer Yum! Brands, has witnessed a 13 per cent fall in sales growth across its three brands- KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell in the quarter ended December, 2015, extending the double digit decline of the previous four quarters.

Shinde refused to answer questions related to business performance in the last three months but said every brand has to take these ups and downs in their stride: "Over the last ten years our brand in India has gone from somewhere around 30 restaurants to 300 restaurants. So we had a great period of growth in the last ten years and we are looking forward to our next ten years,"

Earlier this year Yum! Brands had changed the reporting structure by splitting the operations on the lines of individual brands in several markets including India to fight the slowdown in food retail business. Rahul rose to the position of MD after the removal of the unified structure for Yum! in India.

He said the move had given them a lot more brand focus. "This initiative is an example of what KFC can do by focusing more exclusively on KFC," he said.

The company has partnered with World Food Program (WFP), Akhsya Patra Foundation and India Food Banking Network(IFBN) to provide 20 million meals to the under privileged children in India by 2020. Consumers can also join the progamme by adding Rs 5 to their bill, each time they visit a KFC store, according to Shinde.