China: The People’s Heroic KFC

Kentucky Fried Chicken has opened a new branch in honor of Lei Feng, a legendary model soldier in China’s People’s Liberation Army, in his hometown of Changsha, in Hunan province. The restaurant opened in time for Lei Feng Day, a national holiday when people are encouraged to show goodwill and lend a helping hand to others. Yum China plans to open 250 Lei Fang KFCs throughout Hunan.

More:

“Hunan KFC branch honors Lei Feng spirit,” Zhang Yangfei, Feng Zhiwei, and Wen Xinzheng, China Daily

“KFC turns to the image of a Communist hero to support its massive China expansion,” Mary Hui, Quartz

___________________

Short Link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-sLw

Image (“Severe the People!”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

Serve the People! KFC Will Spin Off Eateries in China.

Yum! Brands, parent company of KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell,  is spinning off Yum Brands in China as a separate publicly traded firm. Sales in China’s 4,600 KFCs have been tanking for the last 3 years in the wake of Avian Flu and food safety scares. Adding new menu items, a new mobile app, updated employee uniforms, and celebrity promotions by film biggies Chen Kun and Kē Zhèndōng haven’t helped much.

More:

“The company behind KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell just isolated the most dangerous part of its business,” Ashley Lutz, Business Insider

Update:

“China is no longer a complete nightmare for KFC,” Alison Griswold, Quartz

___________________

Short Link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-mAJ

Image (“Severe the People!”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

Serve the People! KFC in China.

KFC’s China division is adding 15 new items to menus at the country’s 4,600 restaurants. Let a thousand chickens bloom! The new grub will be promoted by Chinese celebrities Chen Kun and Kē Zhèndōng. What’s the “K” in “KFC” stand for again, Kaiping?

KFC China is also rolling out a new mobile app and updated employee uniforms. Skeptics say it’s all meant to distract attention from last year’s Avian Flu and food safety scares.

KFC Cancels Syria’s Order

“In 2006, Kentucky Fried Chicken opened Syria’s first American restaurant in Damascus. The franchise weathered more than two and a half years of war, but this month, it became one of the last foreign businesses in the country to close its doors.”

 — Adam Heffez, “What KFC’s Exit From Syria Says About the Country’s Horrifying Food Crisis,” The Atlantic

___________________

Short link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-hJm

Image (“Arabian Delights, after Ludwig Deutsch”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

Eastern Delights

“For six years, Rafat Shororo longed for the taste of a KFC sandwich he had eaten in Egypt. This week, he got his finger lickin’ fix at home in the Gaza Strip after a local delivery company managed to smuggle it from Egypt through underground tunnels.

‘It has been a dream, and this company has made my dream come true,’ says Mr. Shororo, an accountant, as he receives his order from the delivery guy.

The al-Yamama company advertises its unorthodox new fast-food smuggling service on Facebook. It gets tens of orders a week for KFC meals despite having to triple the price to 100 shekels ($30) to cover transportation and smuggling fees. The deliveries go from the fryers at the Al-Arish KFC joint 35 miles away to customers’ doorsteps in about three hours.”

— “KFC smugglers bring buckets of chicken through Gaza tunnels,” Ahmed Aldabba, Christian Science Monitor

Also:

“Delivering KFC by Tunnel, Not Too Fast but Satisfying,” Fares Akram, New York Times

___________________

Short link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-gFJ

Image (“Arabian Delights, after Ludwig Deutsch [detail]”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

Japan’s Jolly Old Elf: Colonel Sanders

When Christmas comes to Japan, thoughts turn to that jolly old man, Harland Sanders. America’s Kentucky Fried Chicken came to the Land of the Rising Sun in 1970, and homesick expat Yanks soon began gobbling the deep-fried fowl for the holidays. Japanese folks give Yuletide luxury gifts to their sweeties, and many have adopted this exotic Christmas culinary custom, too. Those who can afford it, that is. A KFC Christmas Barrel costs about US$40.

So クリスマス用のケンタッキー  (Kurisumasu ni wa kentakkii! “Kentucky for Christmas!”) and to all a good night.

Japan’s Jolly Old Elf: Colonel Sanders

When Christmas comes to Japan, thoughts turn to that jolly old man, Harland Sanders. Kentucky Fried Chicken came to the Land of the Rising Sun in 1970, and homesick expat Yanks soon began gobbling the deep-fried fowl for the holidays. Japanese folks give Yuletide luxury gifts to their sweeties, and many have adopted this exotic Christmas culinary custom, too. Those who can afford it, that is. A KFC Christmas Barrel costs about US$40.

So クリスマス用のケンタッキー  (Kurisumasu ni wa kentakkii! “Kentucky for Christmas!”) and to all a good night.

KFC and the Egyptian Revolution

During the 18-day Egyptian Revolution there was talk of a foreign provocateur in Tahrir Square, an American colonel. Colonel Sanders. Rumor had it that anti-Mubarak demonstrators were being paid off in Kentucky Fried Chicken. Raja Abdulrahim of the Los Angeles Times covered the story: