On November 12, 1987, China’s first KFC restaurant opened in Qianmen, Beijing. Thus began her development history in the country with the largest population in the world. 10 in 1992, 100 in 1996, 1,000 in 2004, and 2,000 in 2007. As of February 4, 2009, the number of KFC restaurants in China reached more than 2,500. According to company executives, KFC will open 100 stores in China every year during the "10th Five-Year Plan" period. We have to say that KFC has achieved great success in China.

In late September 1986, KFC began to consider how to enter the Chinese market, the most populous market, and explore the huge potential contained in this huge market. Although the prospects are optimistic, many problems also make KFC's decision-makers feel headaches and hesitant. For the world's largest chicken restaurant company, the Chinese market is completely unfamiliar: Can KFC's purely Western flavor be accepted by Chinese consumers? Developing the Chinese market requires not only technical resources, but more importantly, valuable management resources. Furthermore, large amounts of hard currency profits cannot be repatriated from China, and even moderate levels of remittance are unlikely. The most critical thing is that to enter the Chinese market, you must choose a specific investment location. And this comes with a lot of uncertainty. When the situation was unclear, KFC decided to conduct a more comprehensive and thorough investigation of the Chinese market. The first question is: where should the first KFC store be located? This decision will have a dramatic impact on future profitability, further development in other regions of China, and determination to invest management resources. KFC compared the possibility of reducing risks with the potential returns that could be obtained through investment, and considering that there were no other competitors in China at the time, it was the best time to enter. Therefore, after balancing the possible risks and benefits, we decided to temporarily use Beijing as a starting point. Taking Beijing as the first choice city for KFC to enter China has laid a solid foundation for KFC's success in China.

The "shoe principle" refers to the shoe that best fits the foot and is a good shoe. For this reason, the localization strategy should be firmly adhered to.