Dear KFC
Fried chicken... Fly vixen
via The Washington Post:
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Yum Brands Inc. is targeting Africa and other emerging global markets for expansion for its venerable KFC chain that has become a dominant fast-food player in China but has struggled in the U.S. Louisville-based Yum said Wednesday that it expects to double the number of KFC restaurants in Africa to about 1,200 by 2014. Yum projects that KFC will grow into a nearly $2 billion brand in Africa within four years and will contribute more than $100 million in profit to Yum's international division, which excludes China - which has its own division.
"Africa has tremendous opportunity," Yum Chairman and CEO David C. Novak said during the company's investor-analyst conference in New York. "It's a great emerging continent, and we have a chance to really lead in that business."
KFC is already a leading brand in South Africa with more than 600 restaurants. The chain has a small presence in a few other African countries.
"We're using our South African base as an opportunity for us to ... enter other countries," Novak said.
The chain will expand with restaurant openings planned in such places as Nigeria, Ghana, Angola and Zambia. The company said it expects franchisees to invest about $500 million in Africa by 2014.
Ever think the
The irony in your modus operandi is so thick that only your gravy could compete. It's no secret that your restaurant is failing on numerous fronts. From the assertion that your chicken is more processed than Sarah Palin's appeal, to the Double Down's artery-clogging chicken goodness (sarcasm), KFC, there's not much left to conquer in the United States, much less any losses you can take. My issue, or question, here is simple, though. Is this racist? KFC, the pervading stereotype for this century is that people of the black diaspora tend to enjoy chicken of the fried variety. Fried chicken is an American phenomenon that has yet to take hold worldwide, which was putting a major dent in your international pockets... At least in the developed Anglo-Saxon world. By that token, your move was damn predictable. In fact, I imagine the meeting to decide to pump more chicken into Africa as something like this:
Corporate Head 1: Seems like our shareholder value is dropping... Maybe we should cut back on the artificial flavors, coloring, and preservatives?
Corporate Head 2: Noooo! are you crazy??? Those chemicals make our chicken finger-licking good, and make it so we don't really have to cook or prepare the food! Why mess with a formula that works? Besides, I have a tip that might make us rich again!
Corporate Head 1: Are you thinking what I'm thinking?
Corporate Head 2: You know it, man!! Let's pump our cardiac arrest-good chicken into Africa! You know what they say about black... (looks at concerned African-American board member) Africa? Emerging markets always take hold of American fast food!
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From the perspective of a young black male, this is Chappelle's Show-worthy comedy. The amount of possible insights into your reasoning could outnumber the stars, but at the end of the day, it's pretty obvious why there's a huge 'X' on your map of Africa. Rather than make better food or try different marketing worldwide, you guys are running to the Motherland with the hopes of making bank. It's business, I understand. Yet, at what point can we be real with the fact that stereotyping and racial stigmas affect our decisions? Does there have to be a huge sign that says 'Black People Enter', or have you guys already thought of that? Whatever the case, KFC, you can't run from what such expansion looks like, no matter how you try to sugarcoat it. No race is as compartmentalized as blacks, and it's only a matter of time before other racial minorities are in that same fold. Call it expansion, development, or what have you. It will never erase the stigma, much less keep you from making out like bandits in Africa. Then again, hasn't every other entity that's come to the continent? History lesson aside, I see you KFC. I see you...