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Yum! Brands to add 400 KFC stores in Turkey

KFC’s sales are expected to grow more than 10 percent annually in Turkey, making the country the second-biggest growth market after Russia, according to a press release.

August 14, 2015

Yum! Brands Inc plans to increase its KFC restaurants four-fold in Turkey to tap quick service dining growth, according to a story that ran in Bloomberg.

The Louisville, Kentucky-based company that also owns the Pizza Hut and Taco Bell brands, plans to add 400 KFC restaurants in Turkey over the next five years, said Sabir Sami, head of Turkey, Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan for Yum! Brands.

The company, which took over Turkey operations in 2013, from a local franchise group and currently owns 99 of the 100 existing KFC outlets in the country, will probably run half of the new restaurants while the remainder will be operated through franchise deals, Sami said in the release.

Turkey’s dining industry grows between 2 percent to 3 percent every year. Of the 400 new KFC restaurants in Turkey, 250 or 300 of them will be located in the city of Anatolia, according to the story. The remainder will be opened in Istanbul, the country's capital.

KFC’s sales are expected to grow more than 10 percent annually in Turkey, making the country the second-biggest growth market after Russia, Sami said in the story.

Each KFC restaurant will cost between 700,000 liras ($251,000) and 1.5 million liras, Sami said.