From the outside world, it takes some courage for Joey Wat, CEO of KFC China, to turn his career around.

Before joining KFC, Qu had worked for Watson's UK company and had a bright resume. He once revived the old retail chains Savers and Superdrug, which were on the verge of bankruptcy, but coming to China may lose their professional reputation.

After all, KFC's performance in China has been sluggish in the past two years. 20 14 years sales of its parent company Yum! In China, it only increased by 1% year-on-year, operating profit decreased by 8% year-on-year, and same-store sales decreased by 5%.

How to make KFC brand bottom? Qu said that no one can predict the future with a crystal ball, but what is certain is that KFC is learning how to recapture the market.

Order more vegetables.

On the day of the interview, KFC's "BLACKPINK" burgers (Rose Cheese Roasted Chicken Leg Burger and Black Diamond Bacon Spicy Chicken Leg Burger), lemon and orange fresh fruit tea, fresh vegetable salad, full-fat ice cream and many other new products were launched one after another. Qu is very happy. She told the reporter of 2 1 Century Business Review (hereinafter referred to as "2 1CBR") that young people pay attention to face value, taste and health.

Qu wisely emphasized that "there is no unhealthy food, only unhealthy eating habits". It can be seen from this new product that KFC's menu is changing as much as possible. In the two new hamburgers, the proportion of vegetables was increased and the sweetness of fresh fruit tea was reduced. In Shanghai market, a fresh vegetable salad suitable for light eaters was specially tried.

In KFC, every new product and every ingredient has to go through a long process, from which we can see the new intention of the decision-making level.

KFC has a new product research and development committee, and every food research and development and taste debugging will go through strict scientific collocation, tasting and screening. The members of the Committee include the company's senior management, as well as personnel from planning, procurement, quality control, operation and other departments. Every month, the Committee will hold a new tasting meeting. Every new product must be tasted by all members, and more than half of them can vote by show of hands before entering the next stage.

Taking the main product "BLACKPINK Hamburg" as an example, it took at least one year from understanding creativity, determining colors and ingredients, and then selecting new ingredients suppliers and mass production and sales.

This time, KFC introduced fresh vegetable salad for the first time since it entered China, which is almost a subversive change for fast food brands focusing on fried and baked food.

This strange jam salad is a new product with a very personal color. "Usually salad dressing is nothing more than salad dressing, mayonnaise and Thousand Island dressing. Since it is a fresh vegetable salad, can it be more refreshing? " That's the sour and sweet green sauce that Qu remembered.

"I judge it is a kind of fruit, but I don't know what it is, green apple, kiwi fruit or something else? I found the research and development department, described the taste at that time, and asked them to develop this sauce. "

After a while, Qu was invited by the Ministry, and about 10 kinds of salad dressing were put on the table for her to taste, and the closest kiwi fruit flavor was found. Qu revealed that the arrangement and combination of different ingredients, such as fried chicken with Mexican Chili sauce and grilled chicken legs with cheese slices, are all particular. Not all ingredients are delicious when put together, so keep trying.

Qu told reporters: "What customers see is a new product with six kinds of fresh vegetables. As long as there is one more product, there will be several or even a dozen suppliers behind. " So, how to ensure the supply and freshness of fresh vegetables in each store? Undoubtedly, this will once again test the management ability of KFC's supply chain.

The store "slowed down"

The development of KFC is blocked, not only because of events such as Fuxi. The rise of more and more catering brands, together with rising rents and labor costs, external competition and internal structural pressure, make them face unprecedented challenges in the China market.

Qu admitted that the problems faced by KFC are industrial and irreversible, and the company had to make some new attempts. For example, under the premise of not affecting the customer experience, continuously expand the availability of restaurant assets and resources; Increase meal time, such as serving afternoon tea, strengthen delivery business, and cooperate with third-party delivery platforms on a large scale; Provide a more personalized dining environment and so on.

Since 20 14, KFC has implemented a major decision to transform its own stores and break the standardized and unified decoration style. Putting forward the "28 rule" within the company, Qu explained, "The standardization we often talk about is not the same as 1.000%. Regardless of the dishes or store decoration, I hope that each store can achieve 80% consistency, maintain 20% flexibility, meet local needs, and have a certain freshness. "

Take Shanghai Pudong Expo Park Store as an example. This restaurant is a new store under the concept of KFC restaurant. The decoration style is based on the color of logs, and the classic KFC red is dotted with a lot of fresh green plants in the corner. It also created a marine theme area and a reading corner suitable for children.

KFC, which has always been centered on "fast", just wants to slow people down. "KFC currently has more than 4,800 physical restaurants, hoping to become a' good neighbor' around consumers and a comfortable place to stop chatting."

According to Qu, 356 restaurants in China have been upgraded with new concepts, and new concept restaurants have appeared in first-tier cities and most provincial capitals. Of course, it's located in subway stations, high-speed railway station, airports and other stores. Will keep the original fast pace.

KFC did not disclose the change of same-store sales before and after the transformation, but Qu only revealed that the tracking data showed that the transformation effect was ideal. In fact, drastic reforms are imminent. The second quarter financial report just released shows that the same-store sales of Yum! Brands. In China, it decreased by 10%, among which same-store sales in KFC decreased by 12% and Pizza Hut decreased by 4%.

In addition to the change of design style, KFC is making its restaurants more internet-oriented. Last year, it began to provide limited-time free WIFI service, and now it has been extended to nearly 2,300 restaurants across the country, providing free WIFI service around the clock.

2065438+In June 2005, KFC announced that more than 700 KFC restaurants in Shanghai and Hangzhou were connected to Alipay. KFC tried non-cash payment for the first time in 28 years. After 3 weeks, nearly 4,700 KFC restaurants across the country can use Alipay to pay.

The data shows that the 20% discount of KFC Alipay has been applied for 1.9 1.6 million person-times. Qu said that in the future, more and more O2O means will be promoted nationwide, including self-service ordering apps and self-service ordering machines that have been tested in some stores.

Qu said that she likes the retail industry because it is "fast"-making decisions quickly and getting results quickly, and the time window for verifying the success or failure of her reform will not be long.

KFC has really become a state-owned enterprise. What are consumers most worried about?

M&A and investment between enterprises are too far away from consumers, and whether the KFC store at home is safe and delicious is important. If foreign brands such as KFC really become China enterprises, can they still win the trust of consumers? After seeing the rumors of mergers and acquisitions, some netizens expressed concern:

"It is estimated that the food hygiene standard will drop a lot."

"I have a question: Will there be gutter oil after the acquisition?"

"KFC China dishes will be greatly increased, such as various packages."

"In fact, I don't care much about it. I only care about going to the bathroom for free in the future. No, this is very important. "

"Why did these giants choose this opportunity to cash out? Worth our deep thought!