Pizza Hut, KFC sales grow in December quarter

Despite a severe cash crunch that hurt sales of consumer goods in the country during the December quarter, quick service restaurant (QSR) chains KFC and Pizza Hut have managed to grow.

System sales of the two grew 16 per cent and nine per cent, respectively, during the period in India. System sales of Pizza Hut during the preceding quarter grew six per cent, after declining seven per cent in the June quarter. KFC’s sales grew 13 per cent in September, after falling one per cent in the previous quarter.

During 2016, system sales of KFC grew seven per cent, backed by an increase in sales during the second half of the year. Pizza Hut’s system sales grew one per cent. The market here contributes about one per cent of the global sales of Yum! Brands’, the US-headquartered QSR company that owns both. In 2015, system sales of Yum! in India declined five per cent. System sales growth figures exclude foreign currency translation. “This represents our second consecutive quarter of positive same-store sales growth. Over the past six months, we have driven growth by realigning our business structure and focusing on core offerings and relevant product innovations. In the wake of external factors like demonetisation that affected the industry in the past few months, this is a reiteration of the confidence that consumers have shown in our brand. Our focus for the coming year is to sustain this growth,” said Rahul Shinde, managing director, KFC India.