FRANCHISING
if they have overseas affiliates , or how reasonable it becomes to ship product over there until we can get enough units developed to economically produce goods over there . With paper products or some proprietary mixes , for example , it may not be cost effective to produce those overseas for just one unit . So we may ship a container over there and then they ’ ll store product until there ’ s multiple stores .
FDF : In light of that point , how similar is your menu in China to your domestic menu ? Are you introducing any changes to appeal to regional tastes ? MP : We did . We insist on the core products being the same – in our case a chicken tender , bone-in fried chicken , and a nice roast chicken product . But from there we ’ ve allowed flexibility for some of the side items . We ’ ve allowed them to add more rice dishes and pasta dishes , and then a few more soups and salads and a couple of other side items . Another example is that we sell catfish in the US , while catfish as we know it is not readily available in China , so they offer a more recognizable whitefish over there instead .
But of course French fries , mashed potatoes , our yeast rolls – those kinds of things are international . We serve Pepsi there just like we serve Pepsi here , and the core products and the uniforms and those kinds of things are really standard to what we have here . So it ’ s mostly allowing some additional items and substituting on some of the side items that may not be that familiar .
KFC , who has a major presence over there , has really set the stage . In other markets they haven ’ t had as big of a diversification of menu , but in China it seems like they ’ ve done more of that , so we felt a need from a competitive position to follow suit .
FDF : What are some challenge you face opening a restaurant overseas that you haven ’ t faced domestically and particularly in China ? MP : There are some cultural differences , there are ways of doing business that are different . Another challenge is real estate prices . Shanghai is a very urban market with lots of high rises , so we ’ re not going into the typical site in the US , which would offer a single building with a drive-thru .
18 October 2014