Popeyes, an American fried chicken chain, is making a renewed effort in China, and plans to open 1,700 stores in Chinese mainland in the next decade, to compete with established competitors such as KFC and McDonald’s.
This also shows that after the end of the COVID-19 epidemic, global fast food companies are increasingly hoping to take a slice of the huge consumer market in China.
“China is still an important market for brand expansion,” Ge Jiesen, general manager of Popeye Fried Chicken China District, told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday. “We hope to connect people with the same interests in our branch. We hope our customers will be deeply impressed by our food, decorations and music.
Popeyes reopened its first store in Shanghai’s bustling Huaihai Middle Road on Saturday, four months after all nine stores in China were closed after major business reforms. This fast-food chain operator first landed in China three years ago, which attracted wide attention.
In May 2020, at the opening ceremony of Popeyes Shanghai store, customers queued for 8 hours to taste the signature fried chicken chops.
Tim Hortons China China, the operator of Canadian doughnut and coffee chain stores, has opened more than 600 branches in the mainland. Tims is a joint venture between private equity firm Cartesian Capital Group and Restaurant Brands International, which owns Tim Hortons, Burger King and Popeyes.
Popeyes aims to open 10 branches in Shanghai this year and increase to 70 in 2024. By 2025, the brand hopes to add about 100 new stores and expand its geographical coverage to more than ten mainland cities. The brand is expected to open 500 stores in the mainland in five years, of which 180 are franchised stores.
Lu Yongchen, CEO of Tiems China, told reporters that while continuing to build a supply chain, implement a digital strategy and enhance brand awareness, the two brands will work together to expand their business in the Mainland.
“The reopening of China’s economy after COVID-19 has strengthened the hope of global fast food giants, who hope to regain their growth momentum in the world’s largest consumer market,” said Chen Xiao, CEO of Shanghai Yacheng Culture, a marketing and brand company.
The catering industry in Shanghai and other cities seems to be recovering quickly, but it will take time to revive the stagnant economy in China.
In Shanghai, in the first half of 2023, the total expenditure on hotels and eating out soared 42% year-on-year to 19.36 billion yuan, while the growth rate of local domestic GDP was 9.7%.
Yang Jiawei, chief financial officer of Yum! China Holdings, which owns KFC and Pizza Hut in China, said in February this year that it would spend 900 million US dollars to open 1,100 to 1,300 more stores this yea.
Tiems China Company said in a statement in March that Popeyes had $30 million in cash to seek growth in China, adding that it would allocate another $60 million to develop the fried chicken brand in the world’s largest consumer market.
Post time: Aug-24-2023