Janay Booker
BUAD 4020
November 2, 2013
McDonald’s and KFC Case Analysis
Brief Summary
In 2008 McDonald’s and KFC were the largest quick service restaurants (QSR) in the world, with 31,999 and 15,580 outlets respectively. Both chains were renowned for their broad spectrum of consumers on a global basis. McDonald’s spearheaded global expansion with its first overseas outlet in Canada in 1967 and entering Japan in 1971. McDonald’s outlets experienced tremendous success in Japan with record breaking daily sales and speed of expansion in the initial stage. KFC similarly started global expansion early with its first overseas outlet in England in 1964 and entered Japan in 1970. However KFC was not as successful as McDonald’s and did not experience profit until six years after entry. KFC opened outlets in Hong Kong in 1973 which all were closed within two years. The company would eventually gain the confidence of Hong Kong customers ten years after its entry.
There was a completely different experience in China for KFC. They were recognized as the leader in foreign QSR as well as a significant player in the Chinese restaurant industry as a whole, contributing 1% in the country’s total food and beverage revenues in 2005. In 2005 KFC outlets in China recorded an average on 1.2 million in annual sales per store, compared to just 900,000 for similar stores in the US. In contrast McDonald’s presence in China was less than half of KFC’s with a significantly lower estimated profit margin.
Chinese consumers’ spending on eating out had increased tremendously along with the country’s economic boom in the past decade. Retail revenues of the restaurant industry increased from 5.2% in 1991 to 14% in 2007 as a portion of total retail revenues from consumer goods. China was the world’s largest consumer of meat. Annual meat consumption in China would jump from 59kg per head in