KFC
...f a nickel for each chicken the restaurant sold. By 1964, Colonel Sanders had more than 600 franchised outlets for his chicken in the United States and Canada. That year, he sold his interest in the U.S. company for $2 million to a group of investors including John Y. Brown Jr., who later was governor of Kentucky from 1980 to 1984. The Colonel remained a public spokesman for the company. In 1976, an independent survey ranked the Colonel as the world's second most recognizable celebrity. Under the new owners, Kentucky Fried Chicken Corporation grew rapidly. It went public on March 17, 1966, and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange on January 16, 1969. More than 3,500 franchised and company-owned restaurants were in worldwide operation when Heublein Inc. acquired KFC Corporation on July 8, 1971, for $285 million. Kentucky Fried Chicken became a subsidiary of R.J. Reynolds Industries, Inc. (now RJR Nabisco, Inc.), when Heublein Inc. was acquired by Reynolds in 1982. KFC was acquired in October 1986 from RJR Nabisco, Inc. by PepsiCo, Inc., for approximately $840 million. In January 1997, PepsiCo, Inc. announced the spin-off of its quick service restaurants -- KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut -- into an independent restaurant company, Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc. In May 2002, the company announced it received shareholders' approval to change it's corporation name to Yum! Brands, Inc. The company, which owns A&W All-American Food Restaurants, KFC, Long John Silvers, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurants, is the world's largest restaurant company in terms of system units with nearly 32,500 in more than 100 countries and territories. Until he was fatally stricken with leukemia in 1980 at the age of 90, the Colonel traveled 250,000 miles a year visiting the KFC restaurants around the world. And it all began with a 65-year-old gentleman who used his $105 Social Security check to start a business. KFC KFC operates in 74 countries and territories throughout the world under the name "Kentucky Fried Chicken" and/or "KFC." It was founded in Corbin, Kentucky by Colonel Harland D. Sanders, an early developer of the quick service food business and a pioneer of the restaurant franchise concept. The Colonel perfected his secret blend of 11 herbs and spices for Kentucky Fried Chicken in 1939 and signed up his first franchisee in 1952. By the time KFC was acquired by PepsiCo in 1986, it had grown to approximately 6,600 units in 55 countries and territories. KFC restaurants offer fried chicken products and some also offer non-fried chicken-on-the-bone products, with the principal entree items sold in pieces under the names Original Recipe, Extra Tasty Crispy and Tender Roast. Other principal entree items include Chunky Chicken Pot Pies, Colonel's Crispy Strips, and various chicken sandwiches. KFC restaurants also offer a variety of side items, such as biscuits, mashed potatoes and gravy, cole slaw and corn, as well as desserts and non-alcoholic beverages. Their decor is characterized by the image of the Colonel and distinctive packaging includes the "Bucket" of chicken. In 1996, KFC's worldwide system sales of over $8 billion grew faster than the industry average even though the number of restaurants in its global system did not materially increase. This growth was largely due to the impact of new products as shown by the fact that same store sales in Company-operated stores in the U.S. increased 6%. In 1995, same store sales for Company-operated stores in the U.S. were also strong, increasing 7%. For the first half of 1997, KFC same store sales growth for Company-operated units in the U.S. was consistently positive resulting in a 4% growth rate for the 24 week period. Average U.S. system-wide sales per traditional unit in 1996 were $775,000. YUM BRANDS The Yum! Brands, Inc. organization is currently made up of six subsidiaries organized around its five core concepts, KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, A&W All-American Food Restaurants and Long John Silvers. Yum! Brands and KFC is based in Louisville, Kentucky; Pizza Hut and Yum! Restaurants International are headquartered in Dallas, Texas; Taco Bell is based in Irvine, California; and A & W All-American Food Restaurants and Long John Silvers are based in Lexington, Kentucky. Each of Yum! Brands' concepts are engaged in the operation, development, franchising and licensing of a system of both traditional and non-traditional QSR units. Non-traditional units include express units and kiosks which have a more limited menu and operate in non-traditional locations like airports, gas and convenience stores, stadiums, amusement parks and colleges, where a full-scale traditional outlet would not be practical or efficient. In addition, there are approximately 367 units housing more than one concept ("2n1s"). Of these, approximately 354 units offer both the full KFC menu and a limited menu of Taco Bell products, and approximately 13 units offer both the full KFC menu and a limited menu of Pizza Hut products. In each concept, consumers can either dine in or carry out food. In addition, Taco Bell and KFC offer a drive-through option in many stores. Pizza Hut and, on a much more limited basis, KFC offer delivery service. Each concept has proprietary menu items and emphasizes the preparation of food with high quality ingredients as well as unique recipes and special seasonings to provide appealing, tasty and attractive food at competitive prices. VISION Our passion, as a restaurant company, is to put a YUM on people's faces around the world, satisfying customers ever...