KFC, Pizza Hut report over two-fold jump in system sales during Apr-June

US-based quick service restaurant chain Yum Brands Inc on Thursday reported an over two-fold jump in system sales of KFC and Pizza Hut in the Indian market.

System sales is a business term used in the franchising industry to assess the growth of a franchised brand and its sales. It represents the total sales of all outlets that use a brand, or that use all the franchised brands owned by one franchisor.

The Louisville, Kentucky-headquartered firm witnessed system sales growth of 221 per cent in the KFC business and 163 per cent for Pizza Hut in Q2 period in India, Yum Brands said in a post-earnings statement.

The Indian market witnessed a nationwide lockdown in the April-June quarter last year when the government had imposed strict restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Though the April-June quarter this year too witnessed restrictions on account of the second wave, it was not as strict as the previous one.

Yum Brands operates quick service restaurants globally under brands like Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut.

The Indian business represents less than 1 per cent of both KFC's and Pizza Hut's global system sales.

Commenting on the results, KFC India Managing Director Samir Menon said, "The quarter ending June (Q2 2021) recorded a 221 per cent system sales growth for India and area countries. This period was marked by the severe second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic across the whole region."

The company's operations were affected due to localised lockdowns and restrictions on movement.

"We are opening up restaurants per the guidelines of the different states, and remain cautiously optimistic that the second half of 2021 will be better than the first half," Menon added.