KFC Q1 system sales decline 2%, Pizza Hut declines 6%:

New Delhi: The India unit of global restaurant chain KFC, owned by Yum! Restaurants, reported 2% decline in system sales for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020, down from 26% growth in the same quarter last year, amidst the ongoing lockdown. Pizza Hut India, also a Yum! Restaurants brand, reported a decline of 6% in system sales in the first quarter, as restaurants resorted to delivery only to comply with the national lockdown, leading to a complete shut down of malls and restaurants.

Yum! operates KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell across over 1,000 restaurants in India. System sales imply sales at outlets that have been open for at least a year.

KFC India managing director Samir Menon said: “Subdued growth in March and softness is on account of the lockdown. We continue to operate around the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic with our delivery business only amidst the lockdown situation in the country as we comply with all regulatory directives.”


In a post earnings call for the October-December 2019 quarter, Yum! Restaurants had named India, Canada, Japan and Europe as markets with internationally strong sales momentum for the year.

Yum!, which follows the global strategy of doing away with capital-intensive operations to instead focus on brand growth and development, competes aggressively with Domino’s, McDonald’s and Burger King.

In India, while Pizza Hut is already entirely franchised, KFC’s company-operated footprint is under 10%. It operates its franchise operations between two

partners - Devyani International and Sapphire

Foods, set up by a consortium of funds led by Samara Capital.