History of KFC

KFC(Kentucky Fried Chicken) was founded by Colonel Harland Sanders, an entrepreneur who began selling fried chicken from his roadside restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky, during the Great Depression. Sanders identified the potential of restaurant franchising, and the first "Kentucky Fried Chicken" franchise opened in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1952. KFC popularized chicken in the fast-food industry, diversifying the market by challenging the established dominance of the hamburger. Branding himself "Colonel Sanders", the founder became a prominent figure of American cultural history, and his image remains widely used in KFC advertising. The company's rapid expansion made it too large for Sanders to manage, so in 1964 .He sold the company to a group of investors led by John Y. Brown, Jr. and Jack C. Massey.

Its really informative that, KFC was one of the first fast-food chains to expand internationally, opening outlets in England, Mexico and Jamaica by the mid-1960s. Throughout the 1970s and 80s, KFC experienced mixed success domestically, as it went through a series of changes in corporate ownership with little or no experience in the restaurant business. In the early 1970s, KFC was sold to the spirits distributor Heublein, which was taken over by the R.J. Reynolds food and tobacco conglomerate, which later sold the chain to PepsiCo. The chain continued to expand overseas, and in 1987 KFC became the first Western restaurant chain to open in China.

In 1997, PepsiCo spun off its restaurants division as Tricon Global Restaurants, which changed its name to Yum! Brands in 2002. Yum has proved a more focused owner than Pepsi, and although KFC's number of outlets have declined in the US, the company has continued to grow in Asia, South America and Africa. The chain has expanded to 18,875 outlets across 118 countries and territories, with 4,563 outlets in China alone, KFC's largest market.

In 1934, Sanders took over the lease of the Pure Oil filling station on the other side of the road, due to its greater visibility for motorists. He then began to sell fried chicken. To improve his skills, Sanders took an eight-week restaurant-management course at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration. By 1936, his business had proved successful enough for him to be given the honorary title of Kentucky colonel by Governor Ruby Laffoon. In 1937, Sanders expanded his restaurant to 140 seats, and in 1940 purchased a motel across the street, the Sanders Court & Cafe. 

In 2009, KFC International launched the Krusher (Krushem in some markets) line of frozen beverages. The product was an attempt to introduce a between-meals snack to KFC, and was marketed towards teenagers. In April 2010, the Double Down sandwich was launched. Criticised as an unhealthy product, it featured two pieces of fried chicken in lieu of a conventional bread bun.It has proved to be a success for the company, with 15 million Double Downs sold worldwide between March 2011 and March 2013. In September 2012, the Chicken Little sandwich returned in the US.

By December 2013, there were 18,875 KFC outlets in 118 countries and territories around the world. KFC is the second largest restaurant chain in the world by sales after McDonald's.

In April 2014, Yum! announced that first quarter KFC sales had risen by 11 percent in China, following a 15 percent fall in 2013.

In July 2014, Chinese authorities closed down the Shanghai operations of the OSI Group, amidst allegations that it had supplied KFC with expired meat. Yum! immediately terminated its contract with the supplier, and stated that the revelation had led to a significant decline in sales.