Kfc History
History:
KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is a fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, which specializes in fried chicken. An "American icon", it is the world's second largest restaurant chain overall (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with over 18,000 outlets in 120 countries and territories as of December 2012. The company is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, a restaurant company which also owns Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.
KFC was founded by Harland Sanders, who began selling fried chicken from his roadside restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky during the Great Depression. Sanders was one of the first people to see the potential of the restaurant franchising concept, with the first "Kentucky Fried Chicken" franchise opening in Utah in 1952. The franchise popularized chicken in the fast food industry, thereby diversifying the market and challenging the dominance of the hamburger. Marketing himself as "Colonel Sanders", he became a legendary figure of American cultural history, and his image is still prominently used in KFC branding. The company's rapid expansion saw it grow too large for Sanders to manage, and in 1964 he sold the company to a group of investors led by John Y. Brown, Jr. and Jack Massey.
KFC was one of the first fast food chains to expand internationally, opening outlets in England, Mexico and Puerto Rico by the mid-1960s. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, KFC experienced mixed fortunes domestically, as it went through a series of corporate owners who had little or no experience in the restaurant business. In the early 1970s, KFC was sold to the spirits firm Heublein, who were taken over by the R.J. Reynolds food and tobacco conglomerate, who sold the chain to PepsiCo. The chain continued to expand overseas however, and in 1987 KFC became the first Western restaurant chain to open in China. The chain has since expanded rapidly in China, and the country is now the company's most profitable market. PepsiCo spun off its
KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is a fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, which specializes in fried chicken. An "American icon", it is the world's second largest restaurant chain overall (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with over 18,000 outlets in 120 countries and territories as of December 2012. The company is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, a restaurant company which also owns Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.
KFC was founded by Harland Sanders, who began selling fried chicken from his roadside restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky during the Great Depression. Sanders was one of the first people to see the potential of the restaurant franchising concept, with the first "Kentucky Fried Chicken" franchise opening in Utah in 1952. The franchise popularized chicken in the fast food industry, thereby diversifying the market and challenging the dominance of the hamburger. Marketing himself as "Colonel Sanders", he became a legendary figure of American cultural history, and his image is still prominently used in KFC branding. The company's rapid expansion saw it grow too large for Sanders to manage, and in 1964 he sold the company to a group of investors led by John Y. Brown, Jr. and Jack Massey.
KFC was one of the first fast food chains to expand internationally, opening outlets in England, Mexico and Puerto Rico by the mid-1960s. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, KFC experienced mixed fortunes domestically, as it went through a series of corporate owners who had little or no experience in the restaurant business. In the early 1970s, KFC was sold to the spirits firm Heublein, who were taken over by the R.J. Reynolds food and tobacco conglomerate, who sold the chain to PepsiCo. The chain continued to expand overseas however, and in 1987 KFC became the first Western restaurant chain to open in China. The chain has since expanded rapidly in China, and the country is now the company's most profitable market. PepsiCo spun off its