KFC in Japan
{{Short description|Fast food restaurant chain in Japan}}
{{Infobox company
| name = KFC Holdings Japan, Ltd.
| logo = KFC logo.svg
| logo_size = 200px
| logo_alt =
| logo_caption =
| logo_padding =
| image = Shimizu Kensetsu MM46 Office Building 04.jpg
| image_size =
| image_alt =
| image_caption = Headquarters in Nishi-ku, Yokohama
| native_name = 日本KFCホールディングス株式会社
| romanized_name = Nihon KFC Hōrudingusu kabushiki-gaisha
| native_name_lang = ja
| former_name = "Old" Kentucky Fried Chicken Japan, Ltd. (1970–2014)
| traded_as = {{TYO was|9873}}
| industry = Fast food
| founded = {{start date and age|1970|07|04}}
| founder =
| hq_location =Nishi-ku
| hq_location_city =Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture
| hq_location_country = Japan
| area_served = Japan
| key_people = Masaki Kondo (President)
| products =
| brands = Redroof Pizza, Pizza Hut Japan, Natural Dining
| services =
| owner = The Carlyle Group
| subsid = Kentucky Fried Chicken Japan, Ltd.
| website = {{URL|japan.kfc.co.jp}}
}}
KFC (the name was originally an initialism for Kentucky Fried Chicken) is a fast food restaurant chain that specializes in fried chicken and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, United States (US). It is the world's second largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with 18,875 outlets in 118 countries and territories {{as of|lc=y|December 2013}}.
Japan is the third-largest market for KFC after China and the United States with 1,165 outlets as of December 2014.{{cite web|title=Restaurant counts|url=http://www.yum.com/investors/restcounts.asp|publisher=Yum!|access-date=Jan 3, 2016|archive-date=December 7, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151207204021/http://www.yum.com/investors/restcounts.asp|url-status=dead}} In Japan, 70 percent of sales are takeout, with customers tending to buy fried chicken for parties and other special occasions and eating it as a side dish.{{cite news|last=Tanikawa|first=Miki|title=Fried Chicken Dilemma Is Puzzler for KFC Japan|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/18/your-money/18iht-mkfc_ed3_.html|access-date=June 29, 2013|newspaper=New York Times|date=August 18, 2001|archive-date=October 5, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005022822/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/18/your-money/18iht-mkfc_ed3_.html|url-status=live}}
History
KFC Japan was originally formed as a joint venture between its American parent KFC and Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation.{{cite web|title=KFC Japan|url=http://www.mitsubishicorp.com/jp/en/mclibrary/projectstory/vol02/|publisher=Mitsubishi Corporation|access-date=June 29, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130622165235/http://www.mitsubishicorp.com/jp/en/mclibrary/projectstory/vol02/|archive-date=June 22, 2013|url-status=dead}} Following four years of negotiations, Mitsubishi was awarded the franchise rights to KFC in Japan, and a test store was opened at the Osaka World Expo in March 1970.
After its successful debut, the first proper store was opened in the suburban location of Nagoya in November 1970.{{cite web|title=KFC Japan|url=http://www.mitsubishicorp.com/jp/en/mclibrary/projectstory/vol02/page2.html|publisher=Mitsubishi Corporation|access-date=June 29, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511114128/http://www.mitsubishicorp.com/jp/en/mclibrary/projectstory/vol02/page2.html|archive-date=May 11, 2013|url-status=dead}} KFC wanted suburban locations, whereas Mitsubishi argued for city center locations, as cars had not been widely adopted in Japan at that time. Though two more locations were opened in suburban Osaka, the stores struggled, and after less than a year of operation, had lost JP¥ 100 million. As a result of this failure, Mitsubishi's original plan for urban locations was pursued.
The first outlet under the new approach opened in 1972 in Kobe, an upmarket residential area with a large Western expatriate community. The strategy was a success, and by December 1973, 100 outlets had been opened.
Harland Sanders himself visited the Japanese operations in 1972, 1978 and 1980.{{cite web|title=Colonel's Story|url=http://www.kfc.co.jp/room/story.html|work=KFC Japan|publisher=Yum!|access-date=November 13, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113151907/http://www.kfc.co.jp/room/story.html|archive-date=November 13, 2013}} In 1983 there were 390 outlets with annual sales just under $300 million.{{cite news|last1=Carrel|first1=Todd|title=Kentucky Fried Chicken, Japanese Style|agency=Associated Press|date=12 July 1983}} By this time Japan was KFC's largest single foreign market.
In August 1990, KFC Japan was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.{{cite web|title=KFC Japan|url=http://www.mitsubishicorp.com/jp/en/mclibrary/projectstory/vol02/page3.html|publisher=Mitsubishi Corporation|access-date=June 29, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511123102/http://www.mitsubishicorp.com/jp/en/mclibrary/projectstory/vol02/page3.html|archive-date=May 11, 2013|url-status=dead}} KFC benefited from the economic boom in Japan during the 1980s, and grew to 1,000 outlets with annual sales of $1.2 billion by 1993.{{cite news|title=Competition Gains on Colonel Sanders in Japan|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-08-14-fi-34960-story.html|access-date=June 29, 2013|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=August 14, 1995|archive-date=November 13, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113150530/http://articles.latimes.com/1995-08-14/business/fi-34960_1_fried-chicken|url-status=live}}{{cite journal|last=Okawara|first=Takeshi|title=Universality and particularity in globalization|journal=Business Quarterly|date=Summer 1993|volume=57|issue=4|pages=128–134}} However, the rapid expansion of outlets saw franchisees competing for market shares with each other, and around 100 outlets closed down in the mid-1990s.
In 2000, KFC Japan reported sales of nearly $598 million.{{cite book|last=Karan|first=Pradyumna|title=Japan in the 21st Century: Environment, Economy, and Society|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IgOTn0gdmPoC&pg=PA330|date=12 September 2010|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|isbn=978-0-8131-2763-7|page=330|access-date=18 October 2016|archive-date=20 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230920191927/https://books.google.com/books?id=IgOTn0gdmPoC&pg=PA330|url-status=live}} In December 2007, Mitsubishi assumed majority control of KFC Japan in a JP¥ 14.83 billion transaction.{{cite news|title=Mitsubishi takes over Kentucky Fried Chicken Japan for ¥14.83 billion|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2007/12/09/business/mitsubishi-takes-over-kentucky-fried-chicken-japan-for-14-83-billion/#.Uc8qVvnVDK0|access-date=June 29, 2013|newspaper=Japan Times|date=December 9, 2007|archive-date=November 13, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113151849/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2007/12/09/business/mitsubishi-takes-over-kentucky-fried-chicken-japan-for-14-83-billion/#.Uc8qVvnVDK0|url-status=live}}
= Christmas =
File:Christmas in Japan- KFC.jpg
In 1970, Takeshi Okawara—manager of the first KFC restaurant in Japan—began promoting fried chicken "party barrels" as a Christmas meal intended to serve as a substitute for the traditional American turkey dinner. Okawara marketed the party barrels as a way to celebrate Christmas, a holiday which lacked widespread traditions in Japan at the time.{{cite web |last1=Barton |first1=Eric |title=Why Japan celebrates Christmas with KFC |url=https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20161216-why-japan-celebrates-christmas-with-kfc |website=BBC Worklife |access-date=January 18, 2020 |language=en |date=December 19, 2016 |archive-date=February 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222014135/https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20161216-why-japan-celebrates-christmas-with-kfc |url-status=live }}
KFC Japan expanded the promotion nationwide in 1974 with its long running "Kentucky for Christmas" ({{langx|ja|{{noitalic|クリスマスはケンタッキー}}}}) or "Kentucky Christmas" ({{langx|ja|{{noitalic|ケンタッキークリスマス}}}}) advertising campaign. Eating KFC food as a Christmas time meal has since become a widely practiced custom in Japan.{{cite news |last= Smith |first= K. Annabelle |title= Why Japan is Obsessed with Kentucky Fried Chicken on Christmas |url= http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/why-japan-is-obsessed-with-kentucky-fried-chicken-on-christmas-1-161666960/ |access-date= 2015-12-16 |journal= Smithsonian |date= December 14, 2012 |archive-date= 2015-12-22 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151222075513/http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/why-japan-is-obsessed-with-kentucky-fried-chicken-on-christmas-1-161666960/ |url-status= live }}{{cite news |last= Gebreyes |first= Rahel |date= December 11, 2014 |title= How KFC Became A Part Of Japan's Christmas Traditions |newspaper= The Huffington Post/The World Post }}{{citation |last= Quigley |first= J.T. |title= A Kentucky Fried Christmas in Japan |url= https://thediplomat.com/2013/12/a-kentucky-fried-christmas-in-japan/ |journal= The Diplomat |access-date= 2015-12-16 |archive-date= 2015-12-22 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151222113650/http://thediplomat.com/2013/12/a-kentucky-fried-christmas-in-japan/ |url-status= live }} {{As of|2019}}, in Japan, Christmas sales of KFC made around Christmas Eve account for nearly five percent of annual revenue.{{cite web|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/themes/food/118438232/why-japan-is-obsessed-with-kfc-at-christmas|title=Why Japan is obsessed with KFC at Christmas|date=December 24, 2019|access-date=December 24, 2019|author=Anthony Dennis|website=Stuff|archive-date=December 24, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191224011038/https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/themes/food/118438232/why-japan-is-obsessed-with-kfc-at-christmas|url-status=live}}
References
{{reflist|2}}
External links
- {{official|http://www.kfc.co.jp/}} {{inlang|ja}}
{{KFC}}
{{Food chains in Japan}}
Category:1970 establishments in Japan
Category:The Carlyle Group companies
Category:Companies formerly listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange