Istanbul
26 January 2008
The expansion of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) and Pizza Hut outlets in Turkey from 72 to some 130 over the next three years will create approximately 1,200 new jobs, vice chairman of the executive board at Süzer Holding told the Turkish Daily News Wednesday.
We are planning to invest $10 million each year in the expansion project over the next three years. The total investment in the project is expected to stand at $30 million, Serhan Süzer said.
Vedat Samanlı, general manager of Turkent, the subsidiary of Süzer Holding managing Pizza Hut and KFC in Turkey, said the network of the two brands is likely to expand to major Anatolian cities.
For more than 10 years we operated KFC and Pizza Hut outlets only in the three biggest cities of Turkey: Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir. We then expanded to cities like Bursa and Eskişehir," Samanlı said.
"We also started operating Pizza Hut and KFC units at the Dalaman International Airport, which is a good basis to expand to other airports in Turkey and to the tourist resorts of the Aegean. Once we achieve ideal coverage in the cities where we have presence we will expand further to other major Anatolian cities."
Turkent will choose its new locations on the basis of availability of potential clientele. �KFC and Pizza Hut brands have two different concepts. Our aim is to choose the right brand for each location,� Samanli said.
The expansion of the network is likely to boost employment in the locations of the new outlets. Presently Pizza Hut and KFC employ some 1,700 people in Turkey.
�For every new store opening we will need approximately 20 employees. So for the following three years we have targeted 60 more store openings. This means the number of our employees will reach at least 2,900,� Samanlı said.
In 2008 Turkent will also launch a Pizza Hut delivery service in Turkey. �This time, we will sub franchise the brand in addition to our own investments. Any investor who meets our franchisee criteria will be able to open his own Pizza Hut delivery outlet. We will also launch a single number call center for the brand,� Süzer said.
The main challenge of fast food business in Turkey is the growing competition in the sector as well as rising retail rents, said Samanlı.
Source :
www.turkishdailynews.com.tr
