KFC bets on street front locations

KFC fast-food network plans to open ten restaurants this year and reach a total of 50 restaurants on the domestic market and turnover worth 180m lei (43m euros), up 12% from 2010.

The company will count on drive-through and front street restaurant and will not open any more units in shopping centres.

"Given the results of the drive-through restaurant of Sibiu, opened more than a year ago, we've decided to tackle this segment. Thus, out of a total 10 stores we want to open this year, more than half will be of this type and the rest will be street front ones. There are not many more shopping centres opening, so we have an additional reason not to open KFC restaurants in malls. Anyway, we're not going into all shopping centres," said C`lin Ionescu, general manager of KFC Romania.
With the opening of the ten new restaurants, the fast-food network will hire another 300-400 people, to be added to the 1,100 current employees.

Talks for the new openings are underway, so that KFC head would not offer details about their positioning, saying only they will be equally located in Bucharest and other cities.